We all know the general benefits of having a garbage disposal in our homes. It cuts down on kitchen-top clutter, it recycles food wastes by grinding them up so they are easy to flush away, and because many ingredients will damage drain lines over time it can help prevent expensive repairs. But for all its benefits, there are some negative aspects too—grinding food scraps produces heat (which degrades performance), units built before 1993 typically use 1 horsepower motors (and units built after 1994 use ½ horsepower motors) which means they use more energy than newer units; and if not properly maintained, garbage disposals can cause serious harm including lacerations to hands and fingers.
Before we discuss the more common problems with your unit, let’s first read through a typical use guide that should help you understand when and how often a given function is to be used:
“EVERYDAY USE—Following these simple guidelines *will ensure safe and effective operation of your garbage disposal*:
1) Use cold water when grinding food waste, hot water dissolves fats which can adhere to the inside surface of the drain pipes resulting in clogging. Don’t EVER put oil or grease into your unit! To find us on Google maps for your garbage disposal emergencies go here.
2) NEVER grind hard materials such as bones, nutshells, glass/metal/plastic items, etc… If you do, they can damage the unit.
3) Turn off the power before inserting food waste into the grinding chamber (i.e., turn it on and then off).
4) ALWAYS run cold water while using your garbage disposal; hot water will liquefy fats which adhere to drain pipes resulting in clogging.
5) If you need to remove a stoppage from within the grinding chamber, insert an undamaged paper clip into the hole in front of and below where you insert food waste into the chamber (underneath is a small opening/hole that gives access to inside of unit—this hole is there for cleaning purposes). NEVER stick anything except fingers/paper clip through this opening!!!
) Carefully monitor how much food waste you feed into your unit. NEVER overfill it!!! ALWAYS scrape food scraps off of plates and rinse them down the drain before putting them in your unit!
7) After using your garbage disposal unit, ALWAYS run cold water for several seconds while turning on/off to flush left-over particles away from the grinding chamber.”
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Now that we have a general understanding of how and when our units should be used, let’s talk about some common problems:
1: Unit is leaking: All units are equipped with an o-ring that seals tightly around the cutting shaft. Over time, these rings can become worn or cracked resulting in excessive leakage. Replacing the seal is extremely easy—just remove your unit from under your sink (it only requires removing the drain line to get access), remove the cutting shaft (typically located on top of unit) and replace this seal.
2: Unit is grinding poorly/running slow: If your unit is running slowly, it may be due to an excessive amount of particles that are stuck within the grinding chamber—just like food, particles will adhere over time resulting in clogging. Removing these particles can be done easily by first turning off power to your unit (very important). Then you insert a broom handle or any piece of wood through intake opening (on top of unit) until it reaches inside chamber. Gently tap broom handle with rubber mallet so that it dislodges stuck particles. Once all particles have been removed, turn unit back on (power should be off!) and run water while turning it on for several seconds.
3: Unit will not turn on/off: The main reason your unit won’t turn on or off is because it has tripped the reset button either by overheating or receiving too much current resulting in an overload .
4: Noise issue: Excessively loud units are typically due to cracks, worn o-rings or incorrectly tightened components. Be sure to inspect all screws within unit—some models contain locking nuts underneath sink flange that must be loosened before removing disposal from under sink. Once these parts have been replaced, please look at ” How To Reduce Garbage Disposal Noise .” You can find us on Google maps here: Garbage Disposal Repair.
Families from the Brushy Creek Lake Park request our sink and garbage disposal solutions
This park is located at 3300 Brushy Creek Rd, Cedar Park, TX 78613. You can visit their website here: https://www.cedarparktexas.gov/departments/parks-recreation/park-amenities-services-facilities/brushy-creek-lake-park
Brushy Creek Lake in northern Williamson County became a public park in 1981 when Travis County transferred its ownership to Williamson County for management as part of the county park system. The park has an area of about 550 acres and offers camping with electricity and water hookups plus fishing (for largemouth bass), birdwatching, hiking trails, picnic facilities and restrooms with hot showers.
The park is under the jurisdiction of Williamson County Parks and Recreation. In an increasing trend fit to accommodate a growing urban population, this CPO, Brushy Creek Lake Park CPO, was created in 2010 to become an integral part of a larger master plan for developing a community around the lake. This larger area will be known as The Park at Brushy Creek. As of early 2012, no new homes have been built yet as part of this master-planned development nor has any retail establishment been built near the park entrance itself. However, Hewitt Homes is currently selling new homes on land that Borders Brushy Creek Lake as part of their development called The Waterfront at Brushy Creek which began sales in.