Do you have a garbage disposal? There are a number of things you should know about it. Here are some of these things as given by commercial garbage disposal repair professionals:

Always do the right things

Just like any other appliance, if you mistreat your unit, it’s bound to develop problems. Some of the things you should do to keep your unit in top shape include:

Keep the garbage disposal clean: You can do this by pouring a little dish soap inside the unit and let it run for a few minutes.

Run the appliance regularly: Just like any other unit, by keeping the unit running you prevent rust and corrosion. It also keeps all the parts moving thus preventing obstructions from accumulating.

Grind food with a strong flow of cold water: The reason you should use cold water instead of hot is to prevent grease and oils that get into the unit from melting and clogging the unit. The cold water solidifies the oils and grease so that they are chopped up before they reach the trap.

Grind hard materials: You should regularly grind hard materials such as fish bones, chicken bones, small fruit pits, and others. When you grind the materials, you create a scouring action inside the grind chamber that cleans the garbage disposal walls.

Always cut large items into small ones: Before you put the items in the garbage disposal, always cut them into small pieces. This comes in handy in preventing the unit from clogging up.

Avoid mistreating your appliance

Just as there are a number of things you can do to keep your unit in top shape, there are equally a number of things you can do that will hurt your appliance. Some of the things you should avoid doing include:

• Grinding plastic, glass, metal, or even papers
• Grinding cigarette butts or combustible materials
• Pouring grease, oil, or fat into the garbage disposal. When you pour the grease, it will slowly accumulate and prevent the garbage disposal from grinding the food materials. As a result, you will clog the drains.
• Grinding extremely fibrous materials such as corn husks, artichokes, onion, skins, and celery stalks. The fibers from these materials are bound to tangle and jam the garbage disposal motor and even block the drains.
• Turning off the garbage disposal before the grinding is completed. Doing this has been shown to lead to damage to the appliance. The right way of going about it is waiting for the grinding to complete after which you should turn off the appliance.
• You should then let the water run for at least 15 seconds after which you should flush out the remaining particles. It’s after this that you should turn off the water.
• Putting expandable foods in the unit. Foods such as pasta and rice expand when they get into contact with water. When they do so inside your unit, they are bound to jam and clog the garbage disposal.
• Cleaning the garbage disposal with harsh chemicals. Harsh chemicals are not only risky for you, they also cause harm to your blades and pipes. For you to protect yourself and your unit, never use the chemicals in your unit.

Aim to keep nasty smells out of your unit

No one likes a bad smelling appliance. Unfortunately, due to the presence of food materials, it’s common for the garbage disposal to produce bad smells. The cool thing is that there are a number of things you can do to keep your appliance smelling great. Some of these things include:

Tossing an orange or lemon in the garbage disposal. When you periodically toss lemons or oranges in the disposal, the oils and juice from the fruits and peels will naturally clean the walls inside the garbage disposal creating a fresh and long lasting scent.

You can’t find the fruits? Freeze vinegar in ice cube trays and run them down the garbage disposal. These materials will kill the odor-causing bacteria thus keeping your unit smelling great. Commercial appliances repair Alexandria professionals report that vinegar also keeps the blades sharp thus increasing the efficiency of the unit.

Are you experiencing stubborn odors? You should pour baking soda down your drain and let it set for a few hours after which you should run cold water.