The Garbage Disposal

What can I say about the garbage disposal? Well, a lot, actually. So many people abuse this great little device. As you can see here to the left, I really think that many people think that your garbage disposal can eat anything that you throw at it just like the one on the Flinstones. That is simply not true

There are many items that should never go down a disposal. Raw, uncooked food is at the top of the list. Your disposal is not a magic machine that makes everything disappear at the touch of a button. It is really a simple machine that grinds up soft foods. So, uncooked vegetables, orange, lemon, lime, and especially melon rinds do not belong inside your disposal. Of course, foods that are too soft can cause problems also. I know you might be like, well what can I put down there then. Hold on a second and let me finish the do not list. Foods like rice and oatmeal and small greens can cause a lot of trouble too. It's not that the disposal can't handle it, its that if you put down large amounts at one time to disposal will throw it out so fast that it will end up clogging your drain. The disposal is designed to take care of the food that comes off of your dinner plates. So it should be small, cooked scraps of food. It is definitely not designed to clean out your fridge. That food should go strait to your trash can. I have had plenty of people over the years act frustrated with me on that last point. I had one lady actually tell me that I told her that it was ok. I was like what did I say. She said that I said that you need a water running then feed the garbage disposal. And that's right, having the water already running and the disposal on then feeding the scraps off of your plate instead of putting all the scraps down it and turning it on is much better. But what she did was take an entire head of cabbage and peal it apart and run it down the disposal. The disposal did eat it up ok, but it then clogged the pipes with all the shredded greens.  I hope that this helps you understand more about your disposal and how to use it right. This might sound like just a bit of common sense, but you should make sure that your disposal is cleared every time you use the sink. I see many people run food down there and don't run it to make sure that it is cleared. This causes excessive rusting on the unit and can effect the dishwasher as the dishwasher normally drains through the disposal as well. Below is a video of me giving some install tips, but I also show you the workings of the disposal so you can see what I was talking about.