Garbage Disposal Care

Your garbage disposal is a useful appliance to have in your kitchen. You can use it to minimize the food waste you throw away in the trash, which lessens the amount of garbage in landfills and smells in your home. There is actually quite a bit of environmental discussion regarding garbage disposals vs. trash dumps which makes for an interesting rabbit hole to fall down if you're inclined. Start with this article from the AP news if you want to read more. So if you have a disposal and use it, you'll know they require proper use and cleaning to maintain and run efficiently. Let's talk a little bit about your disposal and how you should care for this important kitchen appliance:

• The number one rule of garbage disposal usage is ALWAYS run the cold water when you turn your disposal on. Water helps move the ground up bits of food move through the pipes and helps prevent clogs and unpleasant smells. Using cold water also gets the fats to congeal to other food bits and move through the pipes better.

• You need to run the disposal before you run the dishwasher. The dishwasher will be hooked up to the garbage disposal for drainage. If your disposal hopper chambers are full of food, when the water from the dishwasher flows into the sink and can't get past the unprocessed food, the dirty water and unprocessed food will back flow upwards into the sink and create a mess.

• DO NOT put your hand in the disposal. If your disposal stops while you are running it because something gets caught or plugs it up, never stick your hand or other object down it until you have turned it off at the fuse box AND unplugged it under the sink.

• You can hear the food being processed through the disposal, so when it sounds clear, you know the food has been processed and drained and you can turn the water and disposal off.

• You should clean your disposal every one or two weeks. (Cleaning instructions below.)

Here is a handy list from The Spruce of things you should NEVER put down your disposal:

• Grease/cooking oil. Use a paper towel to sop up small amounts of grease that may reside in the bottom of a pot or pan used for cooking before you wash it up. If you have a large amount of grease to get rid of, you can pour back into its original container and throw away, or capture it in a foil-lined cup and discard the foil and grease in the trash once it has cooled and solidified. Oils and grease will become solid when cooled and can coat the pipes in your drainage system, causing which will impair your disposal's ability to work.

• Coffee grounds. Throw away or compost your coffee grounds, as they can clump together and create clogs.

• Large pits from stone fruits and avocados should never be put down your disposal.

• Hot water. Always run your disposal using cold water, as hot water can overheat the disposal and cause it to cut out and stop working. Hot water also keeps the fats/oils from turning solid, which can actually wind up coating your disposal's innards and your pipes. When cold water is later put through the system, the fats will congeal, causing clogs.

• Bone, shells, and eggshells. Large bones are very hard on your disposal, as are shells like clam or mussels, but also, don't put eggshells down it either as the membrane on the inside of the shell can wrap itself around the impellers (grinders), get caught, and create clogs.

• Stringy vegetables such as: banana peels, rhubarb, celery, corn husks, and string beans. These fibrous foods can also wrap their strings around the internal mechanics and create clogs.

Have you ever walked by your kitchen sink and caught a whiff of something unpleasant? That smell may not just be from forgotten, unground food sitting in the hopper chambers of the disposal, it could be something else lurking right beneath the surface. I'm talking about a ring of grime, grease, and food particles that get trapped in and around the rubber splash guard that goes inside the drain hole of your sink. Ick. (Warning: very disgusting photos ahead!) Thankfully, this is easily cleaned and can get rid of those nasty, penetrating kitchen odors fast! You should strive to clean your disposal every one to two weeks. Pro tip: place the kitchen brush you used to clean the splash guard and drain edge in the dishwasher when you are done to properly clean and sanitize it.

To clean your disposal, first remove the rubber splash guard in the bottom of the sink drain. Using dish soap, a brush, and hot water, clean off all sides and edges of the splash guard as well as all around the exposed sides of the drain. Notice we are just cleaning the upper edge of the drain and not cleaning or putting our hand/brush into the disposal chamber.

After you have cleaned the rubber splash guard and drain edge, pour ½c baking soda down the drain, then pour in ½c white vinegar. Put the splash guard and stopper back in the drain and wait a few minutes—you'll hear the chemical reaction of the baking soda and vinegar as they combine. Remove the stopper and turn on the hot water and disposal for 60 seconds to rinse everything out. Finally, give your kitchen a fresh scent and the disposal hopper a brief clean by tossing in some cut up citrus fruit. The rubbery firmness of the rind/peel will actually help clean the interior of your disposal and the citrus oils will give off a burst of fragrance. Run the disposal with cold water until it breaks down the rind and you no longer hear it churning in the disposal. This is a great way to dispose of citrus remains that have been juiced/zested for recipes, or have gone soft (or hard) from not being eaten or used.

Now simmer down and get to cleaning! xx