Most of can agree that it’s really nice to have a working garbage disposal. It makes it so much easier to clean up after cooking a big meal and it makes loading the dishwasher or washing dishes a painless process.
While we may view garbage disposals as “modern conveniences,” they’re actually much more than that: They help take care of the planet. Not only are they cheap to run – they don’t use much water – they reduce the food waste that is sent to our nation’s landfills, which produces methane gas.
When you run the disposal unit at home, you’re helping the environment. Why? Because, as you grind up food in the disposal, the ground-up food scraps are liquefied so they are much easier to treat down at the local water plant.
The recycled food scraps, compliments of your garbage disposal, are recycled into fertilizer and clean water. As a matter of fact, did you know that 70% if the waste that you put into your unit is made up of water? By grinding up the food particles, you’re actually returning them to their essence.
Don’t Put These Items Down the Disposal!
Ever argued with your spouse, kids or roommates about what you can and cannot put down the disposal? From fish bones to coffee grinds and eggshells, there’s a lot of confusion about what you can and cannot put down the garbage disposal.
Here are the main garbage disposal no-no’s:
- Eggshells
- Grease
- Pasta
- Rice
- Bones
- Coffee grinds
Now that you know what not to put in your garbage disposal, let’s talk about the things that it can handle, for example, cold water. When it comes to garbage disposal, cold water, not hot, is its best friend.
Whenever you’re going to use the unit, run cold water through it for 20 or 30 seconds before you grind up the food particles. Otherwise, decaying scraps can sit at the bottom of the unit, stinking up the sink and your kitchen.
A good rule of thumb is that if it can be eaten by a baby or a toddler, then it’s good for your garbage disposal. If you have large solid foods, you want to chop them up before feeding them down the disposal.
Dish soap is great for cleaning the unit while ice cubes can help knock food particles off the blades. If you follow these tips, your garbage disposal should last a long time.
If for some reason it does get jammed or the unit has well-outlasted its lifespan, contact a Kansas City plumber from A-1 Sewer & Septic Service Inc. to schedule a service call!
