Disposal Dos and Don’ts

There are a lot of myths out there as to how you should actually use your garbage disposal. We’re here to clear some things up once and for all. Here are our top dos and don’ts for home garbage disposal units.

Don’t Use Your Disposal as a Trash Bin

Despite what many people think, garbage disposals are not designed for you to intentionally throw all of your excess food scraps in there and be done with them. The garbage disposal is for getting rid of small (we’ll say it again: small!) food bits that accidentally go down the sink. Those bigger food scraps that you can easily grab out of the sink should go in the compost.

Do Run Your Disposal Often

Using your garbage disposal regularly helps to prevent corrosion and rust as well as preventing clogs from building up and gunking up the mechanism.

Don’t Try to Sharpen the Blades with Ice

It’s a common misconception that running a garbage disposal with ice in it sharpens the blades. Actually, garbage disposals don’t even have blades–they have blunt impellers–so they don’t need to be sharpened, and ice won’t do anything helpful.

Do Check for Cutlery Before Running the Disposal

It is very common for an unnoticed spoon or fork to make its way down the disposal and then cause big problems when the disposal is run. Simply taking an extra second to double check that no cutlery has slipped into the disposal can save you a lot of time (and money) having the disposal fixed later.

Don’t Worry if You Encounter a Problem

Butler can fix it! If you accidentally did one of the above disposal don’ts, don’t fret! Just call our technicians at Butler. When it comes to garbage disposals, we’ve seen it all and we’ll get it repaired efficiently and affordably.

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