A garbage disposal is a great appliance to have at your house and helps in keeping the kitchen clean and more importantly the environment healthy.
A clean kitchen usually means healthy food and a lifestyle.
Clean Your Kitchen Sink and Garbage Disposal
The kitchen sink is something that we use daily. Hence it is always important to keep it clean. A clean kitchen sink is important from the point of view of health and sanitation.
Many of the households have garbage disposal units as well to help keep the kitchen cleaner and help dispose of food waste in a more effective manner.
The kitchen sink and garbage disposal unit are both important for a healthy environment in the kitchen. This leads to healthy food and healthier living. Cleaning the kitchen sink and the garbage disposal unit should be done at least once a fortnight.
What is the best garbage disposal which installs easily and cleanly as well? Cleaning the kitchen sink and the garbage disposal unit is easy if you follow them correctly.
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Use Mild Cleaners
The kitchen sink should be cleaned with a relatively mild cleaner. Remember that the kitchen sink is also an integral part of your kitchen and hence if you use any toxic cleaners they can mix with the food or other kitchen materials that harm you.
Hot Water Scrub
The garbage disposal unit will be best cleaned with hot water, a scrub brush, and dish detergent.
The hot water with the dish detergent can clean the internal areas of the garbage disposal unit thereby improving its performance of the garbage disposal unit. The drain or the screen of the garbage disposal unit can be cleaned with a scrub brush.
Get Rid of The Bad Smell
You would be disposing of waste food in the garbage disposal unit and hence there are chances that with time the garbage disposal unit might emit a foul smell. To avoid this, the best way is to place some sliced lemons in the disposal unit.
The citrus acid kills the foul smell and feel and lends a fresh feel to the unit. Similarly, the kitchen sink can also be filled with hot water with a few fragrant herbs in it.
Leave it like that for some time before draining the water. This will ensure that even the kitchen sink is rid of any foul smell that may be left over.
Regular Maintenance
While this may not be an everyday chore but regular maintenance of the garbage disposal unit will help you a lot in avoiding any clogging of the disposal unit.
The best way is to take some ice cubes, vinegar, baking soda, and an old toothbrush. All the materials are easily available and economical too.
Put the ice cubes in the unit so that it will help the blades and the grinders get rid of anything that is stuck on them. Add half a cup of baking soda and one cup of vinegar. This will act as a mild cleansing agent.
After fifteen minutes or so pour hot water and flush away. This is the best way to clear the garbage disposal of any material stuck in it. The splash guard can be cleaned using the old toothbrush.
The Dos of Garbage Disposal
Cleanliness
You can imagine the kind of garbage that goes into the unit. Therefore, it is extremely essential that the garbage disposal appliance is also kept clean from time to time.
Every week or fortnight, clean your garbage disposal unit with dish soap. Pour a little dish soap inside the garbage disposal unit and let it run for about a minute and a half. This will help to keep the food disposal unit clean.
Ensure Food Waste Disposal with Cold Water
The garbage disposal unit may seem all-powerful with its motor and blade, but still while disposing of waste food you should do it systematically.
After putting the waste food, please allow a strong flow of cold water for two minutes, which will help in easy flushing of the waste into the sewer connection with the disposal system. This invariably prevents the clogging of drains.
Usage On a Daily Basis
Frequent usage of food disposal will prevent the unit from getting rusty. The more your use the more it can maintain itself.
The Don’ts of Garbage Disposal
Look Before You Put
A garbage disposal unit may look like a powerful machine engulfing everything that is thrown at it. But the fact remains that it is a machine for garbage disposal and not a trash can.
It is essentially made for food waste only and you should not throw in stuff that is non-biodegradable like plastic etc.
Do Not Use Hot Water
Never use hot water for grinding waste food. It will only clog the unit which in turn will clog the drainage.
Do Not Dispose of Fibre or Greasy Materials
Food items like onion skins, artichokes, or the hard part of the corn should not be disposed of in the garbage disposal unit. Similarly, oil and grease should be kept away from the unit.
Oil and grease can stick to the motor blades causing it to malfunction or worse clog your unit as well as the drainage making it an even more nightmarish experience for you.
However, the food disposal unit requires a lot of maintenance and care failing which can lead to a lot of problems like drain clogging or blockage which will be a headache to deal with. A major part of the upkeep of the garbage disposal appliance is what type of garbage we can dispose of in it.
Repairing a garbage disposal maintenance unit can be a costly affair and the same can be avoided if we discipline ourselves as to what can be put in the food disposal and what should be completely avoided at all costs.
Garbage disposal units can work seamlessly without any issue only if we follow the dos and don’ts of garbage disposal. It is a handy appliance and is easy to upkeep as well. It clean garbage disposal
