Your kitchen’s garbage disposal makes kitchen clean-up easy, especially for avid cooks. The disposal makes it easy to eliminate food waste, but it is not designed to eliminate other types of waste. Not to mention, proper disposal of food waste can help eliminate unwanted smells in your kitchen. Faulty disposals can cause food waste to accumulate and blockages to develop.
As easy as your system is to use, simple errors in operation can lead to malfunctions. If your disposal is not working properly, the experts at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Santa Cruz can help. Our team has been helping homeowners like you address plumbing issues with garbage disposals and more for decades. We are experienced in troubleshooting common garbage disposal issues and assisting our customers with replacements when necessary.
Common Issues You May Find
In our years of experience as trusted plumbers in Santa Cruz, we’ve seen it all when it comes to issues with garage disposals. We commonly hear from homeowners who find their garage disposal won’t turn on or are experiencing jams in their disposal. In these cases, there are several methods we can try to help repair your disposal. Other common issues include:
- Foul odors
- Strange or loud grinding noises
- Leaking
- Slow draining/ drain issues
Your system's motor can sometimes fail due to age. Occasionally, a garbage disposal repair may not be feasible or cost-effective. In these scenarios, your plumbing technician will recommend a replacement.
Older garbage disposals may need to be replaced with newer, higher-power disposals to help prevent future issues from arising. After assessing the issues with your appliance, we’ll provide you with the best possible solution to help you decide what is best for you and your kitchen needs. You may need to replace your system if it makes unusual or loud noises.
Replacement Services
Since a garbage disposal replacement requires electrical and plumbing skills, homeowners should not attempt to do this independently. If done incorrectly, you can cause damage to your home’s kitchen and pose a safety hazard for yourself. Mr. Rooter Plumbing offers fast and reliable disposal replacement services if your disposal has failed.
Before giving us a call, look for the “reset” button. The reset button is located at the bottom of the appliance. This can sometimes fix some minor issues. If your home has experienced power issues recently, it may also be worthwhile to try resetting your circuit breaker if your garbage disposal is not turning on.
Protecting Your System
Using your garbage disposal properly is essential to avoiding issues in the future. Certain items, such as grease, lard, bones, seeds, pits, shells, or other hard food items, should never go down them. It is also recommended to have cold water running down the drain, as hot water may cause the congealing of fats and oils. This will make your system work a lot harder than it is designed to.
If you’re unsure if you should put an item down the disposal – put it in the trash instead. You could cause costly damage to your system. For foods that can safely go into the disposal, feed food waste slowly instead of overjamming the system with too much waste at once.
Keeping your sink drain covered when not in use can help prevent unwanted items, such as silverware, from falling down the drain. If something falls the drain, don’t reach in to get it. The blades on your disposal can be dangerous. Regularly cleaning your disposal with natural cleaners, such as baking soda and lemon, can keep it smelling fresh and help to avoid build-up.
Let Us Help with the Installation
Having issues with an existing garbage disposal? Let us help you get it functional again. We take pride in our excellent track record and consistently good reviews from customers just like you. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for our repair, installation, or replacement services.