Many of us like to wait for our Garbage Disposals/ AKA Garborators unit to stop working or leaks before we replace it, but is there a way to find out when its time is getting close?
The life of your garbage disposal will largely depend on your level of use, once the internal blades get worn out, the unit begins having a hard time grinding the food and that’s about the time when the motor will break down. The food not being ground inefficiently can also lead to unwanted blockages because of larger chunks going down your drain.
A good indication of whether your unit needs replacing can be seen by doing this great little experiment. It’s SIMPLE & will also improve the life of your unit.
Take half a small lemon or lime and put it inside the disposal, as always run water while you let it chop it to bits, the acidity in the lemon will help dissolve grease and fat that get stuck to the blades over time, also get the bonus of that lemon freshness we all love.
Typically, the lemon or lime should be ground finely within 20 or so seconds. Try it!
If you begin to notice your garbage disposal unit starting to have a hard time grinding down foods you may want to start looking into getting a replacement. Here are some things that garbage disposals have a hard time grinding down, and often lead to blockages. When possible refrain from putting them down there to avoid a costly drain cleaning.
- Fibrous vegetables such as:
- celery,
- eggshells
- potato peels.
- Often times these items pass straight through without being ground due to their slim size and can block that drain right up.
- Rice, especially dry rise. IF that dry rice clumps in your drain and then get exposed to water, you’re looking at a cement type blockage.
Call Watermen Plumbing at 855-398-3656 if you need your garbage disposal or other drain issues worked on in the Hollywood, FL area. We will get it done in a timely and cost-effective manner for you.