Poor Garbage Disposal Performance

[MasterPlumbersKeymaster]

I notice that a great deal of what I put in the disposer does not seem to grind down, despite the fact that the motor and unit seems to spin fine. It seems most of it is produce or fibrous material. Is there something wrong with my disposer, or is it just that I should not put vegetable type items (i.e. lettus, etc) in the disposer. Thanks

[GuestParticipant]

Hi Grant:Here is some information you might find helpfull regarding what should and should not gointo your garborator isposer Do’s and Dont’s
The In-Sink-Erator Food Waste Disposer is one of America’s most reliable appliances. However, here are a few simple hints that will keep it working smoothly for many, many years.
Do:
· Grind food waste with a moderate flow of cold water.
· Grind hard materials such as bones, fruit pits, etc. A scouring action is created by the particles inside the grind chamber.
· Grind peelings from citrus fruits to freshen up drain smells.
· Dispose of coffee grounds in your disposer whether or not you are on metropolitan sewer or septic tank.
· Flush disposer for cleaning. Allow disposer and cold water to run after grinding or after draining sink of dish water. Some detergents are caustic; flushing will pass such material into the drain line without disposer damage.
· Use a disposer cleaner, degreaser, or deodorizer as necessary.
Don’t:
· Use hot water when grinding food waste. It is OK to drain hot water into the disposer between grinding periods.
· Turn off motor or water until grinding is completed.
· Be alarmed if a brown discoloration appears on the face of the grinding disc. This is normal. It is surface discoloration only and will not affect the life or performance of the disposer.
· Grind extremely fibrous material like corn husks, artichokes, etc. to avoid possible drain blockage

[RickParticipant]

Fibrous materials, particularly banana peels are the worst thing to put in a garbage disposal.

A garbage disposal is like a rotary food processor. It has small grinding ports open on its sides that grind the food particles. When the ports become clogged, most conventional cleaning methods don’t work. Drain cleaners do not work, because they just flow out the bottom without ever contacting the ports. Plungers don’t work because a few open ports will vent all the plunger pressure.

Try filling the disposal with ice cubes, turn the cold water on medium flow, and turn the disposal on. The grinding ice will clean out the clogged ports and return the disposal to like new working order. It will make some noise, and you may see food particles break loose and come up through the drain. No problem, it will work fine afterwards.

Avoid the fibrous waste in the disposal.

Good Luck,

Rick
[Edited by Rick on 25 February 2001]

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