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Keep Your Kitchen Garbage Disposal Unit in Good Working Condition

It's that time of the year when festive meals mean that you face mountains of dishes, and your garbage disposal tends to work extra hard too.

Few of us would know how to get by without this simple appliance that offers so much convenience while preserving the environment at the same time. However, with more family and friends visiting to celebrate and enjoy festivities, the entire plumbing system faces additional pressure, notwithstanding the garbage disposal unit. During the festive season, Anta Plumbing receives dozens of calls to tend to malfunctioning garbage disposal units. This year, we want to help you to prevent it from happening to you.

Taking Care of Your Garbage Disposal Unit

Regular maintenance ensures that your garbage disposal unit lasts longer and functions better.

Most commonly, problems arise when food particles, oils and fats congeal onto the disposal's working parts.

1. Run some water before and after you use the grinder.

3. Avoid large, hard particles, but sometimes, a small amount of hardness can beneficial in sharpening the blades.

3. Prevent bad smells and keep your unit working properly by flushing vinegar ice cubes down the garbage disposal. Make vinegar ice cubes by simply freezing vinegar in ice trays. You could also use lemon juice.

4. Use citrus peels to eliminate bad smells. Simply add them to the unit after everything else.

5. Use bleach to remove bacteria and odours.

6. When flushing with vinegar ice cubes or lemon peels, also add some coarse salt or borax. Be sure to rinse with hot tap water, as borax is toxic.

7. You can clean the waste disposal unit manually. Be sure to switch it off by the wall and unplug it. Then remove the screen from the top and use a scrub brush to remove dirt and grime.

Garbage Disposal Do’s and Don’ts

DO keep the unit running until there are no more grinding noises and run water for a few seconds afterwards.

DO chop larger pieces of food smaller before disposing it.

DO run the garbage disposal while the dishwasher drains, if the two are connected. The soapy water will clean the unit.

DO NOT put stringy, hard or fibrous materials in the garbage disposal. It should only be used for grinding biodegradable food particles.

DO NOT flush grease or oil down the waste disposal unit's drain.

Festive Garbage Disposal Troubleshooting Tips

With proper care, your garbage disposal unit should function correctly, but if something goes wrong, you can try these fixes before calling in the experts:

1. Garbage disposal unit won't turn on.

● Locate the reset button and press that.

● Check the fuse.

● Check the connections to on/off switch and the motor.

If the electrical parts seem to be in working order, the unit’s motor could be burned out.

2. Garbage disposal unit is making an unusual noise.

● Turn off the garbage disposal and check if a teaspoon or other metal object became lodged inside the unit. Sometimes, a small part of the unit may have come loose.

● Check all the mounting bolts and screws to ensure that they are properly secured.

3. Garbage disposal doesn’t turn, but makes a humming sound. The unit could be jammed, which means that you have to disassemble it using the allen key provided.

4. The garbage disposal unit stops working for no reason.

Usually, this issue is caused by overheating due to something stuck inside the unit. Resolve it by allowing the unit to rest for a while before pressing the reset button.

5. The unit drains water slowly.

In most cases, a standard sink plunger should resolve blockages that cause a slow-draining garbage disposal unit. If a plunger does not resolve the issue, the blockage could be deeper down the line, which will require professional help.

Anta Plumbing can help resolve any plumbing issues ranging from garbage disposal units, to sewer backups and frozen pipes.

What do you think?

Written by Anta

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