Plumbers Longview TX: The Care And Feeding Of Your Garbage Disposal

Plumbers in Longview TX will tell you that a kitchen garbage disposal is a great tool for disposing of some kitchen waste.  They’ll also tell you that though garbage disposals are meant to chew through many different kinds of food scraps, they can’t handle everything.  That doesn’t stop a lot of homeowners who think they can drop anything down the disposal and it will be ground up and flushed into the public sewer system, never to be seen again.

Unfortunately, some things that are pushed into the disposal are seen again and it isn’t pretty. The problem is that a garbage disposal has to be operated correctly and the right things have to be placed into it for grinding.  First, learn what you should and shouldn’t try to dispose of down the sink:

✓  No onion skins, celery stalks, grapes stems or anything else fibrous that can wrap around blades or get tangled in the blade motor.

✓  No grease or oil that can gum up the working parts of your disposal and keep it from working effectively.  Plumbers in Longview TX will tell you that all used grease and oil should be disposed of in the trash.

✓  No meat, especially raw meat or meat with a lot of gristle because raw meat will become stringy and get caught in the blades and meat with gristle can overheat the motor.

✓  No pasta or rice, either cooked or uncooked, because these are starchy and they can become slimy in the disposal, which means they won’t be chopped up well.  They’ll also swell in your pipes and cause a backup of slimy water and half-chopped pasta in your sink.

✓  No potato peels as these are also starchy.  Unlike rice or pasta, peels won’t swell but they will turn into glue in your pipes and cause a clog.

✓  No flour because flour mixed with water in your drain will turn into a papier-mache-like clog pretty quickly

✓  No fruit peels, especially tough or thick peels like banana peels and orange peels.  These are too hard for your disposal to handle and trying to grind them can cause your disposal motor to seize.

✓  No eggshells.  Most plumbers in Longview TX agree that this is a no-no because finely-ground shells will clog your pipes.

✓  No nuts, popcorn kernels or pits from fruits or vegetables.  These will dull or even bend your blades and won’t be chopped up.

✓  No non-food items like bones, cigarette butts, paper or anything else you wouldn’t want to eat.

Second, keep your disposal running optimally by always turning on the cold water before you turn on the disposal or put any food into it.  Once the water and the appliance are running, gently push small amounts of food into the disposal.  Keep the water running 10 to 15 seconds after the grinding sound stops to keep flushing the chopped food bits through the pipes.

Use your garbage disposal wisely and it will do the job it’s designed to do for many years.  If you have a problem like a seized disposal or clog kitchen pipes, call us at Bird Dog Plumbing at (903) 225-2272.  We’re available on Saturdays, too, at no extra charge.  Visit us online at www.birddogplumbingllc.com to find out more about us.

Plumbers Longview TX
Bird Dog Plumbing LLC
2206 Balsam St
Longview, Texas 75605
903-225-2272

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