Garbage Disposal Maintenance: Keep Yours Running for 10+ Years
Garbage disposals are sturdier than people think — but they have a few specific enemies. Avoid them, do basic maintenance, and yours will outlast the kitchen sink.
Maintenance recommendations
Run cold water before, during, and 30 seconds after
Cold water solidifies grease so the disposal can chop it. Hot water melts grease into the drain line where it re-solidifies and clogs. Always cold.
Monthly: ice and salt
Drop a tray of ice and a handful of coarse salt down the disposal and run it cold for 30 seconds. The ice scours the grind chamber and the salt deodorizes.
Deodorize with citrus peels
Lemon, lime, or orange peels (small pieces) freshen the disposal and clean the splash guard. Avoid 'disposal cleaner' chemicals — they're hard on seals.
What never goes in
Bones, fruit pits, eggshells (the membrane wraps around the impellers), potato peels (turn to paste), pasta or rice (expand and clog), coffee grounds (sludge), grease, and absolutely anything fibrous — celery, corn husks, onion skins.
Don't pack it
Feed scraps in slowly with the water running, not in one big handful.
Most common failures
Humming but not spinning
Jammed impellers. Turn off the power, insert the included hex wrench in the bottom socket, and rotate to free the jam. Then press the red reset button on the bottom.
No power at all
Tripped internal breaker (red button on the bottom), tripped house breaker, failed switch, or — at the end of its life — a failed motor.
Leaking under the sink
Could be the sink flange (top mount), the dishwasher connection (side), the discharge tube (bottom), or — worst case — a cracked housing. Each has a different fix.
Slow draining
Usually a clog in the drain pipe, not the disposal itself. The disposal grinds — it doesn't push water through.
Loud rattling
Something hard in there — a bottle cap, a spoon, a bone. Power off, look inside with a flashlight, fish it out with tongs (never your hand).
When to call a technician
Water under the sink, a humming disposal that won't spin even after resetting, or a unit older than 8-10 years that's getting weaker — call us. Replacements are typically a one-hour install.