Garbage Disposal Maintenance

Not many people give a lot of thought to taking care of their garbage disposal, but when it breaks they’ll need a professional plumber to install a new one. Fortunately, there are things a family can do to take care of their disposal and increase its life.
Start by running your disposal at least once a day. Even if you don’t think you need to run the system, letting food build up can make it difficult for the motor to turn, causing the motor to burn out. Also be sure to avoid putting large, hard objects through the disposal. These types of food can get stuck and damage the blades. Also be sure to never put anything down the drain that isn’t food. If your teeth can’t chew through it, odds are your disposal can’t either.
Once a month make sure to clean your sink thoroughly and run the garbage disposal for a full minute in order to clean out the entire system. Then, place about three to five ice cubes down the disposal. While the water is running, have the garbage disposal chew through the ice. This can clean and sharpen the blades. To eliminate bad odors coming from the sink , use frozen lemon or orange juice cubes for this step. Ideally, run hot water while deodorizing your system.