Care for Your Garbage Disposal This Holiday Season

Plumbing systems, in general, don’t typically have a particular season they need service or repairs around our parts. However, our plumbers do expect at least a slight uptick in Missouri City, TX garbage disposal service calls throughout the holiday season, starting on Thanksgiving Day.

Think about it—after your holiday meal is over, you typically push plate after plate of leftover food down the disposal. Unfortunately, this can quickly lead to clogged drains or jammed garbage disposal motors. There are a few things you can do to prevent garbage disposal issues during the holiday season. Keep reading to learn more.

Watch What You Put Down the Drain

We get it, it saves time and effort to just put all your leftovers, and more, down the garbage disposal. However, some of these items should never go down there. These items include:

• FOG: This stands for fats, oils, and grease—which you likely accumulate a lot of when cooking up holiday meals! Unfortunately, these harden and solidify as they cool. So, if they are in your pipes and disposal, they can quickly build up and created stubborn clogs.
• Fibrous Foods: There are a number of vegetables, including celery for instance, that include long fibers that are difficult to break up with your garbage disposal. In fact, they can get tangled in the blades, jamming or freezing up the garbage disposal system
• Potato Skins: These are best left for your trash can. Trying to put too many down the drain at once can bring your garbage disposal to a halt and leave you with a backed up kitchen sink.
• Absorbent Foods: This includes grains such as pasta, rice, and bread. What happens is that they expand when water is added to them. This increases the chance of a clog occurring—this is actually more of a threat to your drains as it is your garbage disposal, but still a common plumbing threat that’s worth mentioning!
• Hard Foods: This includes meat bones, popcorn kernels, and fruit pits. These are all items that may be leftover on a plate after a meal. We know how easy it is to just pick up a plate and wipe it all into the sink—but for some items, the trash can is definitely a better option.
• Non-Food Items: This includes things like plastic wrappers, napkins, and any other paper materials that may be leftover on the table after a big family meal.

Preventing Garbage Disposal Damage

Even by avoiding these particular foods, your garbage disposal can still be damaged in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. For instance, a piece of silverware or jewelry could accidentally slip from the sink top into your disposal and go unnoticed until you turn it on to do its job.

Not only is something like this damaging to your disposal, but it can also be dangerous if it flies out of your sink. We know things can get hectic when you’re preparing a large meal, so we urge you to take a moment and observe your surroundings before switching on the garbage disposal.

Contact Doug Turner Plumbing CO. today for dependable plumbing services!