Your garbage disposal handles soft food scraps, not everything off your plate. Safe items include citrus rinds, cooked veggies, and small bits of soft food. Grease, bones, and stringy peels are the ones that jam or clog it. Here is what to know.
What You Can Safely Grind
Most soft, small scraps go down fine with cold water running. Your disposal grinds them into tiny bits that flow through the pipes. Stick to items that break apart with light pressure. Good choices include:
- Citrus rinds like lemon or orange peel, cut small
- Cooked vegetables and soft fruit
- Small bits of leftover food scraped off a plate
- Ice cubes, which help scrub the grind chamber
Feed scraps in slowly. Do not pack the chamber full all at once. Small loads grind cleaner and put less strain on the motor.
What Never Goes Down the Drain
Some foods look harmless but wreck a disposal or clog your pipes. In Calgary's cold winters, grease causes the most trouble. Keep these out of your sink:
- Grease, oil, and fat. They cool, harden, and coat your pipes.
- Fibrous scraps like celery, corn husks, and onion skins. The strings wrap the blades.
- Potato peels. They turn into a thick paste that blocks the drain.
- Coffee grounds. They pile up like wet sand.
- Bones, fruit pits, and shells. They dull the grinder fast.
- Pasta and rice. They swell with water and gum up the trap.
Why Grease Is the Big One
Grease goes in as a warm liquid. Then it cools inside your pipe and turns solid. Over a few weeks it grabs food bits and forms a hard plug. Alberta's cold ground makes this happen faster. Pour bacon fat and cooking oil into an old can instead. Let it harden, then drop it in the trash.
Cold Water and Daily Care
Always run cold water before, during, and after you grind. Cold water keeps fat solid, so it washes away instead of sticking. Let the water run a few seconds after the motor sounds clear. This pushes the scraps past the trap. Hot water melts grease and lets it coat the pipe further down. So keep the tap cold every single time.
How to Clean Your Disposal
A clean disposal smells better and runs smoother. Try these easy steps about once a week:
- Grind a few ice cubes to knock buildup off the blades.
- Drop in a cut lemon for a fresh smell.
- Rinse with cold water for 30 seconds.
Skip the harsh chemical drain cleaners. They can eat away at the seals and the pipe. If bad smells keep coming back, that often means buildup deeper in the line. Our team can check that during regular drain cleaning.
How to Reset a Jammed Disposal
If the unit hums but will not spin, something is stuck. If it goes dead quiet, it likely tripped a breaker. Here is the safe way to fix it:
- Turn the wall switch off first. Never put your hand inside.
- Look under the unit for a small red reset button. Press it in.
- Use the hex wrench in the bottom slot to free the jam by hand.
- Run the water, then flip the switch back on.
When a Clog Needs a Plumber
Some problems need more than a reset. A slow drain, standing water, or a leak under the sink points to a deeper clog. Water backing up into the other basin is another warning sign. Our licensed plumbers handle both the disposal and the drain line behind it. Our techs are certified journeyman plumbers, so one team fixes the whole job. Most drain companies cannot touch the plumbing. Most plumbers will not touch the sewer. We do both, so it stays one call. Request service online and we will sort it out.
When to Call RR Calgary
If your disposal jams a lot, leaks, or backs up, give us a shout. We are family-run and Alberta owned, serving the area since 1996. There is no travel fee in Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, and Chestermere. Call us at (403) 250-2660 and we will get your kitchen sink draining right again.