5 Tips for a Healthy Garbage Disposal and Pipes
1. Keep Toilets Clear of Debris
Check on your toilets before family comes over. Your plumbing will take on more than you may think. You can’t predict for everyone, but you can prepare your plumbing for an increased workload. Along with providing designated spaces for guests to safely enjoy the thanksgiving treats, you can reduce the chance of a plumbing incident.
These items that should NEVER be flushed down, and can make the holidays a potential disaster:
- Feminine hygiene products such as pads or tampons.
- “Flushable” wipes
- Q-tips
- Band-aids
- Napkins and Paper Towels
- Cotton pads or makeup wipes
If you provide things like wet wipes for your guests, make sure they throw the wipes in the trash right away. These infamous “flush-able” wipes are not actually flushable, and take years to break down. The pipes connected to your toilet are only 4” wide, so avoid these and other non-flushable items to ensure your pipes stay clear throughout the thanksgiving celebrations.
2. A Clean Garbage Disposal Grinds Away Worry
Just like your toilet, the garbage disposal may take a beating from all the thanksgiving foods prepared for your guests. The guests may hover around your kitchen and toss scraps into the sink, but this can be avoided if there are plenty of trash cans around the home.
Avoid putting these foods in the garbage disposal or sink:
- Vegetable Peels like potato, celery, and carrot.
- Fruit Pits like cherries or plums
- Coffee Grounds
- Animal Bones
- Noodles and Pasta
- Eggshells
- Grease
After use, once the grinding noise stops, let your garbage disposal run for five more seconds. This prevents the blades from stopping prematurely and ensures that the waste will be properly disposed of. Plus, it will also ensure every bit of food put into the garbage disposal goes down the drain in as small of pieces as possible.
3. Shower Usage
More people means more showers, and more demand on the water heater. Whether it’s tankless, tanked, or hybrid, your water heater will feel the strain of extended and continuous use. Try to space out showers to allow the water to heat up again. However, tankless water heaters don’t need as much time to heat up between showers, since the hot water is on demand.
4. Schedule Preventive Maintenance
The aroma of fresh food and family should be the only thing you worry about, and not the headache of a plumbing emergency. Reliant Plumbing is happy to provide maintenance or emergency plumbing services to all of our Austinites and San Antonio citizens. In fact, a membership that includes a free water heater flush can have your water heater and other plumbing in the best shape possible before guests arrive.
- Priority Service Calls
- 1 Free Sewer Inspection Each Year
- 1 Free Water Heater Flush Each Year
- 10% off Service Fee on Most Jobs
- A Discounted $45 Service Fee (Waived w/ Approved Work.
Learn more about our Reliant Plumbing Annual Membership by calling our office at 512-222-6029, or (210) 468-8020 for our new office located in San Antonio!
5. Dishwasher Use
Your dishwasher and garbage disposal use the same drain. Avoid any mishaps with food by only running the dishwasher when the garbage disposal is not in use. If guests tend to gravitate to the garbage disposal or dishwasher, you can opt for them to have another area to eat. This way you can avoid any accidental objects being thrown in the sinks or toilets. Also, if the garbage disposal is encountering issues or stops working, avoid using your dishwasher. This way the appliances stay clean until it’s time to call a plumber.