Tips for Better Disposal Performance

Tips for better Garbage Disposer performance

• Use cold water, especially when greases are present. Hot water temporarily dissolves greases, allowing them to congeal further down the drain. Cold water congeals the greases in the disposer so they can be ground up and flushed away.
• Let the water run for at least 30 seconds after the last scraps have gone down. This helps to carry the food particles all the way to the main drain.
• Chew 20 times before swallowing . . . OK, so it sounds like your mom's nagging but it's good advice for disposers too. Give your disposer time to chew up scraps before pushing another load down. This prevents your drain lines from clogging.
• Freshen your disposer with baking soda. With the stopper in place, fill the sink about half way with warm water then add 1/4 cup baking soda. Turn on the disposer and pull the stopper at the same time to clean and flush the grinding chamber.

Coffee grounds, celery stalks and other disposer factoids.

• Some experts say that coffee grounds are bad for your drains. Other experts say coffee grounds are good for drains. Actually, coffee grounds are neither beneficial nor harmful. Problems occur when they're poured down the drain without enough water to flush them all the way through so be sure to use plenty of water.
• Celery stalks, corn husks, shrimp shells, potato skins and other fibrous materials can cause problems. This is especially true if you have an old or 'builder's grade' disposer. If the disposer can't chop the fibers, they'll clog your drain.
• Poultry bones, even bigger bones can actually be good for your disposer. Put that turkey carcass down the drain and you won't have to worry about the neighbor's dog digging through your garbage. Just don't get carried away attempting to stuff it all down at once. Remember what your mom said about chewing 20 times?

Signs that you may need a new disposer:

• You're afraid to use it for anything tougher than soggy bran flakes.
• You keep a plunger under the sink.
• You often say 'Oh, no! Not again!' in the same sentence as 'kitchen sink.'

© 2003 Service Roundtable