Garbage disposals can be dangerous and cause problems if they are not used properly. This article and video will help you understand how your garbage disposal works, how to operate it safely and avoid common problems, and the simple maintenance tasks that you should do to keep it running properly:

• How Your Garbage Disposal Works

• Do’s and Don’ts

• What Can Typically Go Wrong

• Routine Maintenance

This article and video will help you understand how your garbage disposal works, the do's and don'ts of operating it safely and properly, what can typically go wrong and how to fix these problems, and finally, the simple maintenance tasks that you should do to keep it running properly.
 

HOW YOUR GARBAGE DISPOSAL WORKS

You can think of your garbage disposal as being like an industrial strength food processor. Just like a food processor, your garbage disposal uses sharp blades to chop of the food. But in the case of your disposal, it continues to chop up the food waste until it becomes small enough to exit through the small holes in the screen at the bottom of the unit.

Let’s start by first looking at the key parts of your garbage disposal and how they work:

 

Rubber Shield or Sink Plug:

 There are two type of garbage disposals: continuous feed and batch feed styles. The only basic difference is how they turn on. The continuous feed style will have a rubber shield at the bottom of the sink, and after food is pushed through the rubber shield into the disposal, you need to flip a switch on the wall to turn the disposal on. The purpose of the rubber shield at the top of the disposal is to keep food waste from flying out of the operating disposal. A stopper can be placed in the disposal to hold water in the sink when you're not using the disposal. With “batch feed” models, you place a special stopper in the disposal opening and turn it, which then activates a switch that turns on the disposal.

 

Sink Flange:

 This is the metal bracket that holds your garbage disposal to your sink. With all of the whirring and grinding of your disposal, this flange can become loose and begin to leak water.

 

Body:

 The body of garbage disposal is the metal housing which holds your garbage disposal.

 

Impeller Blades:

 The impeller blades are the very sharp metal cutters which spin at high speed to chop up your food waste.

 

Motor:

 The electric motor at the base of your garbage disposal is what causes your impeller blades to spin around.

 

Power Cord:

 The power cord is what brings electricity to the motor.

 

Reset Button:

 The reset button is located at the bottom of your garbage disposal, and it pops out when the motor on your garbage disposal has tripped its internal circuit breaker.

 

Crank Socket:

 The crank socket is located in the center of the bottom of your disposal, and this socket is where you can put in a large Allen wrench to turn the motor back and forth to free up things that are binding the impeller (only to be done with the power turned off!).

 

Drain Piping:

 The drain piping is where the chopped up food waste and water will exit your garbage disposal.

 

Pipe from Dishwasher:

If you have a dishwasher, then your garbage disposal will have a connection port where the discharge pipe from the dishwasher will connect.

 

Air Break:

 And finally, if your dishwasher is connected to your garbage disposal, then it should have an “air break,” which is a device that prevents dirty water from your drain piping from ever being siphoned back into your dishwasher.
 

DO's AND DON'Ts

 

Now let’s look at some “do’s and don’ts” that you will want to keep in mind so that you are operating your garbage disposal safely and avoiding the cause of frequent problems. First, let’s look at the “do’s”:

Dont's:

Don’t overfill your garbage disposal.

 This will create too much pressure on the system, causing it to bog down, which hurts your motor.
 

WHAT TYPICALLY GOES WRONG:

Let’s now look at can typically go wrong with a garbage disposal, and what to fix these problems:

Sink Flange Leaks:

 If you notice water leaking from around the sink flange, then the problem could be due to loose bolts or failed plumber’s putty.

To fix this, unplug the unit or flip the breaker at your main electrical panel.

Next, disconnect the drain pipe and the connection to the air break.

Holding the unit firmly, rotate the disposal to the left (counter-clockwise from bottom) to loosen and remove the unit from the mounting flange.

Check the bolts on the mounting flange. If they are already tight, then the problem is likely failed plumbers putty. To replace the plumbers putty, you will need to loosen the mounting bolts, scrape the old putty out, and then replace with fresh putty.

Then tighten up the bolts on the mounting flange, re-attach the disposal, and then re-connect the drain pipe and air break connection.

Slow Draining:

 If your disposal sounds like it running normally, but the water is going down the drain slowly, then the problem is likely a clog in the drain pipe downstream of the unit.

If this is the problem, then you can try a product like "Drano" which is guaranteed by SC Johnson Wax to get your drain flowing again. By "guaranteed" they mean that if it fails to clear your clog, Johnson Wax will refund what you paid for their product (so save your receipt). But depending on what is clogging your drain pipe, it may actually require a professional to remove the obstruction if Drano doesn't work. But a product like Drano is a great place to start.

Note, however, that Johnson Wax claims that all Drano products are safe for garbage disposals, except for Drano Kitchen Crystals Clog Remover. Remember to READ ALL DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY. You especially do not want to turn on your disposal and have Drano splash back on you.
 

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE

And lastly, let’s look at the simple routine maintenance tasks that you should do to help keep your garbage disposal running problem-free.

 

ANNUALLY:

 At least once a year, you should grind up ice cubes in your garbage disposal to sharpen the blades of your impeller. Place ice cubes into your disposal, start running cold water, and then turn on your disposal to grind them up. As odd as this sounds, grinding up the ice will sharpen the hardened steel blades of your impeller, and it will also help remove odor-causing food build-ups from your disposal.

 

MONTHLY:

To keep your drain pipes running smoothly, every month you should pour baking soda, vinegar, and hot water into your disposal to help reduce waste food build-up and keep it smelling better. Pour a cup of vinegar mixed with baking soda into the sink drain and let it sit for about one hour, then flush down with very hot water (without turning on your disposal). (see costs and reviews of baking soda; vinegar).
 

ADDITIONAL THOUGHT

You might want to consider using a backyard composter instead of your garbage disposal. And if you are having problems with your disposal, you might even want to think about removing it all together, and using a backyard composter. Garbage disposals are a nice modern convenience, but they put additional load on your municipal water treatment facility and increase your home’s water usage and electricity use.

The chopped up food waste from disposal puts organic sludge into the public sewer system, which when it gets to your municipal waste treatment plant, requires increased amounts of water, chemicals, and energy to treat. And in your home, most disposals require about two gallons of water per minute, which can add up to 700 gallons a year in additional water usage. Plus it takes electricity to run the disposal, which adds to your home’s carbon footprint.

So rather than use your disposal, the greener alternative is to use a backyard composter instead (see costs and reviews of backyard composter).
 

SUMMARY

We hope this video (and article) has helped you understand how your garbage disposal works, the Do’s and Don’ts of operating it safely and properly, what typically can go wrong and how to fix these, and the simple maintenance tasks that you should do to keep it running properly.