How To Properly Maintain Your Garburator (Garbage Disposal) Unit

Even though they’ve been around for quite a while, and are relatively simple appliances – garburators are basically a mystery to the average homeowner.

When operating correctly, this handy appliance reduces your food waste. However, it’s not uncommon for it to get clogged up or malfunction once every so often.

To prevent excessive break-downs and clogs, here are our top maintenance tips for garburators.

Garburator Maintenance – Things You Shouldn’t Do

1. Never put any spongy, solid, or greasy things into the garburator. Grease could start accumulating dirt and dust which could ruin the unit’s motor, while solid and spongy things are the prime way to break the blades inside of the unit.
2. Give food enough time to be ground and rinse with cold water. Try to break down the waste you’re throwing into the garbage disposal unit beforehand. In addition to this, give it a little extra time and rinse with cold water to make sure that there’s no residue or gunk left over.
3. Sharpen the blades with ice cubes. Once a month, throw in some ice cubes to keep your garburator’s blades nice and sharp. Run some cold water over-top of the ice cubes to help clear up some gunk and residue while you’re at it.
4. Don’t keep the unit idle. Even if you don’t use your garburator often – it’s a good idea to run it at least once every couple of days. Turn on the tap, run some cold water, and let the garbage disposal run for around 30-40 seconds.

How To Clean Your Garbage Disposal Unit Correctly

Surprisingly enough, people rarely think about cleaning their garburators. But it’s actually a very important part of any good maintenance routine – keeping your garburator clean will help prolong its life and keep it trouble-free.

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow in order to clean your garburator correctly:

1. Pour half a cup of baking soda into the unit and leave it for around 20 minutes.
2. Pour some vinegar over the baking soda and let it fizz out for a few minutes before rinsing the unit off with cold water while letting it run.
3. Throw some peeled citrus fruits into the disposal unit to freshen it up and avoid lingering scents.
4. Clean the plastic flaps over the garburator with basic dish soap and a paper towel or sponge to prevent mold buildup.

What To Do If Your Garburator Stops Working?

If your garbage disposal unit stops working, more likely than not – there are a few things you can do in the comfort of your own home to diagnose and potentially even solve the problem. unfortunately, unlike in the case of your washer showing you an “NF” error code – the garbage disposal lacks the technology to give you any hints of what’s wrong.

As such, there’s two core steps you’ll have to take in order to attempt and fix the problem:

1. Reset the unit – If flipping the switch doesn’t turn the unit on, your next best bet is to find the reset button on the very bottom of the unit’s case. Push this button and check that it stays pressed-in. If it does, turn on your tap to flush some water into the unit and then flip the switch to turn it on again.
2. Check for a clog – If the unit is getting jammed and the blades won’t move, most likely, you’re dealing with a clog. Turn off the unit, unplug it from power, and once it’s unplugged, carefully inspect it for a clog.

Garburator / Garbage Disposal Repair In Burnaby BC

If neither of these steps helped you get your unit back into working condition – it might be time to call in the cavalry.

Top Appliance Repair Burnaby provides garburator/garbage disposal diagnostic and repair services in Burnaby and surrounding areas.

So if your Insinkerator unit is giving you trouble – give us a call and we’ll get you booked in to come and take care of it.