Around The House

Depending on how you treat this common household
appliance, the garbage disposal can be a great friend
or your dreaded enemy. For many people it is the
latter and when not used properly can also lead to
an expensive plumbing call. Plumbing calls due to
garbage disposals are over 40% of the plumbing calls
we receive. How can you avoid having you and your
garbage disposal becoming a statistic, here are some
hints.

• DO NOT  pour grease of any kind down
  disposal.
• Do not put bones down the disposal.
• Watch that nonfood items don’t fall or
  inadvertently get thrown into disposal.
• Don’t over stuff garbage disposal with items.
• When running disposal, run very hot water down
  disposal.
• Run disposal a long enough time for water and
  discarded items to be thoroughly ground and washed
  through the drain pipe.
• Pour a box of baking soda down disposal a
  minimum of every three months.
• Approximately once a month grind a bunch of ice
  cubes in the disposal. This helps clean and keep the
  blades sharp.
• Once a month pour an enzyme agent down the
  sink drains. (Drain Care Build-up Remover, Bi-O-Kleen
  BacOut, or Earth Enzymes Drain Opener) This type of
  product helps eat away nasty buildups in your
  drain.

If you do get a clog and decide to use a liquid,
gel or crystal drain cleaner product, be extremely
careful, these have caustic agents that can cause
chemical burns.