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Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Serving all of Chicagoland

847-468-0069

3 Common Misunderstandings about Garbage Disposals

You probably use the garbage disposal in your kitchen every day. These devices are so useful that it’s easy to take them for granted—and that is part of the reason that a number of misunderstandings about them have arisen. Unfortunately, these misunderstanding often lead to people accidentally damaging their disposals. Below are 3 misunderstanding that are prevalent about garbage disposals; knowing the truth about them will help you keep your disposal in good repair.

#1

The Myth: You can sharpen the blades of your garbage disposal by pouring ice cubes down into it.

The Truth: You can’t sharpen the blades of a device that actually doesn’t use sharp blades in the first place. If you could get a clear look down into the hopper chamber of your garbage disposal, you would see that the impellers on the rotating flywheel that grind down the food aren’t sharp at all. They’re blunt. Pouring ice into the disposal just makes for more work without any benefit. It might even damage the disposal.

#2

The Myth: It’s fine to treat the garbage disposal like a garbage can and throw trash into it.

The Truth: We have to blame the name of the device on this one; it is called a garbage disposal after all. However, you should never put any non-organic waste material, such as plastic and paper, into a disposal, since you risk creating drain clogs and jamming the mechanical parts of the disposal. Garbage goes in an actual garbage can, and only food waste goes into the disposal.

#3

The Myth: A garbage disposal can handle any kind of food waste.

The Truth: There are a number of food types that are difficult for a disposal to handle or which can present serious problems for drains. Among them: fat, oil, and grease (FOG); rice and pasta; coffee grounds; fibrous vegetables; popcorn kernels; and meat bones. In general, any food waste product that you can’t chew without your teeth (such as chicken bones) doesn’t belong in the garbage disposal.

We hope this information help you to take better care of your kitchen disposal so that it supplies you with many years of service. If you need repairs for your garbage disposal, or you require a replacement installed, call on Lifeline Plumbing. We offer plumbing services for Naperville, IL.