Sick of your stinky, ineffective garbage disposal? Try these tricks

Garbage disposals are an appliance we use often and likely take for granted. They are located under the kitchen sink(s) and connected to the sink drain and dishwasher drain. Water from both drains, plus small food particles, passes through this device before exiting to the main drain and the sewer system.

Here’s an essential guide from the team at Rosie on the House.

How a garbage disposal works

The motor

• Powered by electricity, the garbage disposal motor spins a flywheel (a disc with holes) with impellers (blunt devices to help grind the particles fed into the disposal) attached to it. Speeds of this motor can reach up to 2000 RPMs (rotations per minute).
• Impellers then toss the particles into a stationary grinding ring.
• The grinding ring breaks down the food particles into tiny pieces.

Water flowing down the drain then flushes these particles into the main house drain. It is important to note there are no blades in the garbage disposal. The blunt impellers and grinding disc do the work.

With this cursory knowledge, let’s look at how to maintain good working order of our disposal.

Tips to keep your garbage disposal working

Food size and type make a huge difference in the ongoing operation of your disposal.

• Large chunks of any type of food are hard on a disposal. Potato peels and trimmings from vegetables and meats should not be stuffed into the disposal. The large items put undue stress on the moving parts.
• Hard items such as fruit pits, animal bones, nuts, seeds, and shells can cause the impellers and grinding disc to break.
• Be aware of putting coffee grinds, pasta, rice, and bread down the drain. They are soft and seem harmless, but when ground up and mixed with water they can form a paste like sediment that can lead to a clog in your disposal. That said, small bits of pasta or rice scraped off a dinner plate will not likely gum up the works if you flush out the disposal with cold water.
• Fibrous foods such as onion skins, celery, or corn husks, to name a few examples, are another food no-no. The fibers can become intertwined with the impellers and grinding disc rendering them useless.

Only Use Cold Water: When flushing items into the disposal, cold water is better than hot water.

• Hot water liquefies fats and oils that will harden further down your drain, causing potential clogs.
• Cold water keeps the food particles more solid, making them easier to grind.
• If fats congeal in the disposal, they can form nasty sediments and cause unpleasant odors to emanate from the drain.

Keeping the bad stuff out of the garbage disposal and using cold water to flush food is the key to this appliance’s longevity, but not the only piece of the puzzle.

Maintenance is next.

Cleaning

Regular cleaning cycles will vary from household to household, depending on use. A once-a-month cleaning should suffice for average use. Heavier use might call for once a week cleaning. Here are several different suggested methods for you to consider:

• Ice cubes. Take about half a dozen ice cubes (assuming those are 1″ x 1″ cubes, not the jumbo cocktail ones), and put them into the disposal through the drain. Run cold water and turn it on until the ice cubes clear.
• Salt. To the above process, add a cup of salt or rock salt to the mixture. Run for the same amount of time and let the cold water run for about 20 seconds or so once the ice cubes have been chopped up.
• Baking soda and vinegar. Pour a half cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar into the disposal. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes. Turn on the cold water and the disposal for about 20 to 30 seconds, allowing the cold water to flush the mixture out of the disposal.
• Citrus. If you have a smelly disposal, this method might help. Take the rinds from a piece of citrus, lemon, lime, or orange, break them into pieces, put them down the drain before turning the device on, and run cold water and the disposal for about 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat if particularly pungent.

Remember to clean the drain gasket! Pieces of food can get caught under the gasket and smell up the works. You would do well to clean both sides of the rubber gasket at your drain. Dish soap or vinegar are good choices for cleaning.

Some gaskets are removable. However, if your gasket is not removable clean the underside of the gasket in place but, do not tear it out!

Garbage disposal safety tip

No discussion of garbage disposal operation would be complete without a HUGE safety WARNING!

Never put your hand in the disposal for any reason if:

• It is operating.
• If it stops operating because something got stuck.
• If it is not unplugged.

When objects cause the device to get stuck, the grinding platforms may have residual movement once dislodged, even if unplugged. Always use a tool and never your hand.