Ask a Hudson Valley Plumber: How Can You Maintain a Garbage Disposal?

Ask any Hudson Valley Plumber and they’ll tell you about the importance of maintaining your garbage disposal. While there’s no denying your garbage disposal is incredibly beneficial, things can go bad in an instant, as it may experience clogs and other issues that prevent it from operating at its best. If you let a good garbage disposal go to waste, you may have to spend more money on extensive repair, which can be financially depending on the severity of the problem.

Of course, the folks at T.Webber want our customers to enjoy their garbage disposals to their fullest. If you think your garbage disposal isn’t working as it should, then we have a Hudson Valley ready to tell you how to take care of it. When it comes to garbage disposals, we’ll shred up your worries one piece of advice at a time.

What Does a Hudson Valley Plumber Recommend?

Many of the incidents T.Webber often comes across with garbage disposals could have been avoided if the homeowners had been better informed about how to keep their garbage disposal in good shape. Here are some expert tips from our Hudson Valley Plumber

• Use Garbage Disposal Regularly. Regular use will keep your garbage disposal from becoming corroded or blocked. Longer periods of inactivity can allow grease and food items to harden, making it even more difficult to clean out.
• Keep Disposal Clean. When you’re finished in the kitchen for the day, run some water with dish soap down the drain for a minute or two. Avoid using bleach or drain cleaners, as they can damage the blades.
• Avoid Non-Food Items: Do not shove paper, glass, metal, plastic, fabric or any other kind of non-organic material down your garbage disposal. This can be incredibly hard to grind up, and even lead to long-term damage to your drains.
• Use the Cold Tap: When running the garbage disposal, it’s always better to use the cold tap. This will prevent any grease or oil from accumulating and causing blockages.
• Avoid Starchy Foods Bread, potatoes and pasta all contain starch, which can expand and cause clogs. Even worse, the longer they stay in your drains, the more likely they’ll harden and become hard to move.
• Cut Larger Items into Smaller Pieces:  Before you put large food items down your garbage disposal, always cut them up into smaller pieces if possible so you won’t place so much of a strain on your drains.
• Grind up Rougher Material: You can grind up bones, fruit pits, eggshells, and small bones. The rough material will scour the sides of the disposal and help keep them clean.

Contact T.Webber today to learn more about garbage disposals from a Hudson Valley Plumber!