Don’t trash your garbage disposal on Thanksgiving
Date: November 25, 2020
Originally published on AZFamily.com.
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers because of overworked, overstuffed garbage disposals, according to Mike Donley from Donley Service Center.
“Our favorite one at Thanksgiving time is potato peels,” Donley said. “They expand with water and they’re the main culprit for us coming out.”
Other foods cause problems, too. To avoid a pricey plumbing call, don’t dump things like egg shells, pasta, vegetables or grease down the drain.
“Grease and oil stick to pipes and when things start sticking to pipes, more things start sticking to pipes and they clog up faster,” Donley explained.
Stickers on fruits and vegetables can also contribute to clogs, so make sure you peel them off and put them in the trash can before rinsing produce. If your garbage disposal does get jammed, there may be a simple solution.
“Somewhere under your sink is this tool,” Donley said. “The tool goes right in the bottom of the disposal and it should spin freely like this. If it’s locked up, you may have to turn it one way and then back until you get it to free up.”
If you want a quick way to clean that garbage disposal, just grab a tray of ice cubes and a lemon.
“Just like we talked about feeding food into the garbage disposal, a little at a time, same with ice cubes,” Donley said. “You can hear when they’re all clear and then I’ve got some lemon slices. One at a time until it clears.”
“That will just freshen it up and the acid in the fruit will also help clear the grease out,” he added.
Then let the water run for about 60 to 90 seconds to flush everything through the pipes.