Garbage Disposals - To Chop Or Not to Chop? That is the Question!
By Sam Venice

Garbage Disposals - what convenient appliances that can make your life easier - when kept in working condition. Unfortunately disposals that aren't working correctly can shut down, clog the drains, cause extensive damage to your pipes and expensive visits from your local plumber.

So here are a few tips you can use to avoid the costly mistakes some people make with their disposals and extend the life of your appliance.

Let me start by explaining the basics of how a disposal works and what actually happens to your food after you put it down that "disposal hole".

When you put food down the disposal while running cold water there are blades that are chopping the food into smaller pieces so it can then be flushed through small piping before it is finally fed into larger piping measuring about an inch.

When you feed large pieces of food into the disposal you risk not all of the food being chopped into small pieces and then clogs can form. I suggest you put a little in at a time, in smaller pieces, while running cold water. This gives the disposal the optimal conditions to break the food into very small pieces that are able to flush through all the piping.

I always suggest that once a week you fill your sink up with cold water and then pull out the stopper so a large amount of water will flush through your system. This will help move any larger pieces of food that may have collected in the pipes.

ALWAYS run cold water while the disposal is on. Why not use hot water? Because it can melt fat and allow it to re-solidify as a blockage further down in the drain. The cold water also helps keep the motor cool and free from over-heating.

I also suggest putting a few pieces of ice down and lemon peels down the disposal and running the unit while letting the cold water flow. This will not only help keep your unit smelling fresh but also sharpen your blades and help scour any pieces of debris inside the unit.

Finally I have a small list of items you may want to avoid putting down your disposal for various reasons: Corn Husks Rice Potato peels Banana peels Egg Shells Celery or other stringy veggies like asparagus Cigarette butts Bones from any animal Coffee Grounds

To answer the question To Chop or Not To Chop my conclusion is "When in doubt, throw it out." Using your garbage can when dealing with questionable items can save you a lot of money in trips from the plumber.

Sam Venice is the owner of A Speedy Plumbing established in 1989 and located in Casselberry, Florida. He has been in the plumbing industry for 22 years. You can visit his website at http://www.aspeedyplumbing.com

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