Lots of folks have a garbage disposal device in their kitchen, and use them daily. These products make clean up a breeze but if they are not appropriately taken care of they cause problems. The old saying you live and you learn, along with some support from my handyman have definitely helped ensure my garbage disposer doesn’t cause me agony and avoid the need of garbage disposal repair.
Keep it Clean
One of the most basic things you can do to avoid issues is keep your food disposal clean and healthy. These simple, proactive steps save both time and money by keeping your disposal in tip top form.
A handy tip I obtained from a good friend is to use ice cubes to not only clean the disposer, but also help to sharpen the blades within the unit.
Every so often there is an odor that releases from the disposer, and in an effort to fight this, I like to grind some tiny pieces of citrus as the rinds produce a fantastic aroma and cover up the bad stench.
Work Small
Attempting to pressure big amounts of food through your disposer is a poor idea. I discovered this the hard way by trying to grind a large piece of an onion top. Needless to say, a separated drain pipe, water everywhere and the two hour clean up and repair afterwards mean I have learned my lesson. I was fortunate that the pipe was right beneath the sink and the fix was simple, others were not as fortunate as their clog happened much further away in their plumbing setup.
Always work in small pieces when placing food or waste through your disposer, with cold running water. Running water helps to ensure scraps move through the piping.
If you find yourself with slow draining, I like to fill the sink with water with the stopper in, then pull it out and turn the garbage disposal on. This typically releases any obstructions in the pipes or disposer itself.
If that doesn’t work, and you are not comfortable dealing with plumbing on your own, talk to your handyman.
What is That Noise?
We’ve all been there, washing dishes and a piece of jewelry, or silverware fall into the abyss that is your garbage disposal. Occasionally it happens without us knowing; possibly a seed or other object the disposer cannot handle went undetected. Objects that your disposer cannot breakdown can lead to dulling of the blades as well as cause your flywheel to become jammed.
It cannot be stressed enough, never put your hand into a garbage disposal unless the power has been completely shut off to the unit, not just in the off position. I prefer to unplug mine as I have easy access to the outlet, if you have a hard wired unit, turn off the power in your circuit breaker box.
Garbage disposals have a reset button located at the bottom of the unit, when there is an obstruction the unit turns off in order to avoid additional harm. If you find after eliminating the foreign object that the unit will not turn on when you flip the switch, it is most likely the little red button on the bottom of the disposer which needs pressed back in.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Craft Beer Interview with Nick Mendola
Buffalo native and craft beer enthusiast Nick Mendola was gracious enough to answer a few craft beer related question we had.
http://www.averagedrinker.com/interviews/craft-beer-interview-with-nick-mendola/Wednesday, December 7, 2011
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