Having a garburator in the kitchen is something I grew up with, and today I enjoy the convenience of one in my home. There are some simple things that may save you from a costly plumbing service call if you follow some general guidelines. Never have anything non-organic go down the drain. It is hard on the mechanical components of the garburator, and it’s also hard on the waste treatment center. Unnecessary damage to the waste treatment centre, or extra things they may need to filter out, is only costing the city of Edmonton money, which in turn costs the tax payers money.
Always turn on water first before adding food and continually run water while disposing of food. After you are done adding food to the garburator, continue with the water for at least 5 seconds after the food disposal unit seems to have completed its job and you shouldn’t have any trouble.
Twist ties are your enemy! If the disposal unit is not working properly, 99 times out of 100, its a twist tie around one of the blades. This will normally trip the reset button on the bottom of the garburator and you will manually have to reset the food disposal after removing the twist tie.
As I’m sure we all know, grease is bad for your drains and you should avoid dumping any grease in any drains at all times. The grease becomes sticky and will hold other objects that have been disposed of, and sooner or later it will build up like a snow drift. All of the sudden during thanksgiving dinner you’re calling me to come snake the drain because no one with a house full of guests can handle a clogged kitchen sink.
All these tips will avoid clogged drains needing to be augured by a plumber in an emergency and in turn you should have more success with longer periods of time between visits from the local plumbing professionals.