A garbage disposal unit is an electrically powered device installed under a kitchen sink between the sink’s drain and the trap. The unit shreds food waste into pieces small enough to pass through plumbing with water.
Many people think a disposer works like a blender, spinning blades chopping and breaking down the waste. In reality, disposers work differently, and there are no blades involved.
Instead, disposals do have two blunt metal “teeth,” called impellers. Impellers, or lugs, mounted on a spinning plate use centrifugal force to force food waste particles against a stationary grind ring continuously.
The grind ring breaks down the food waste into excellent particles, virtually liquefying them. After they’re ground, the running water flushes the particles through the grind ring and out of the disposer and into your wastewater pipe. From there, it flows to a wastewater treatment plant or your septic system.
Things you can and you can not put down in your garbage disposal
Even though garbage disposals are very powerful and may work for more than a couple of years, there are a few things you can do to prevent clogs and extend the life of the disposal. Maybe it even works for ten years or more!
First, know that you can put things like fruits and fruit pits, vegetables, small bones (fish and chicken), leftovers, uneaten fast food, and be sure that it can easily pass through.
But, you can not put anything and expect that no harm happens!
You CAN NOT put in oil, grease, or non-food items such as glass, string, or feathers.
You can put eggshells, but you can’t put oyster shells.
The best way to prevent clogs is to keep problem scraps out of the disposal and put them in the trash instead.
Most people have problems with fats; pay attention to any fats or oils that can solidify under cold water and clog the pipes and cause you a headache! So it’s better not to run any fat or grease down to the drain and pipe.
If the impeller plate becomes jammed, you can use a hex wrench to turn the motor from below.
Sometimes a wooden handle can be used to push the impeller plate. A jam might overheat the motor and trip the thermal switch. To prevent the engine from running, simply press the reset button on the bottom of the garbage disposal to reset the unit.
Just keep in mind fixing jammed disposal is easy, but ignoring a jam and repeatedly restarting the unit can burn out the motor.
Hope this article helps you a little bit, and if you have any question, you can contact us.
