3 Surprising Ways to Extend the Life of Your Garburator
Can you imagine life without a working garburator? It’s the smallest of luxuries, easy to take for granted, and it impacts our life in the kitchen in ways we often don’t even realize. Certainly, cleaning up after a big meal would be a lot tougher, or at least a lot messier, without a garburator. As such, it’s worth your time to do whatever you can to extend the life of your unit. No garburator lasts forever—eventually, you will have to replace it—but there are a few simple things you can do to make sure that day doesn’t come around for a long time.
In particular, here are three little-known methods for ensuring your garburator remains in tip-top condition.
Just Run It
Some people use their garburators more than others. You may be in the habit of using it after every meal, or you may only use it after especially big meals—holiday gatherings and birthdays, perhaps. Your garburator needs to be run, however, to prevent it from rusting, corroding, or just freezing up. Running the unit also prevents stray pieces of food from hardening inside it, becoming all but impossible to get rid of, and causing an odor. Even if you don’t often cook or eat at home, get in the habit of running the garburator for just a few seconds, every few days.
Run it Longer
Actually, a few seconds may not be enough. To properly flush out all food, run your unit for 40 seconds to a full minute. Of course, the food in the garburator will likely be more or less gone long before the minute marker comes around, but put a bit of liquid soap down the unit and keep the unit going for just a bit longer, to make sure everything is free and clear.
Use the Right Water
You probably know already that you should be running water while using your garburator—but what kind of water? Running hot water is great for cleaning dishes in the sink, because it helps kill germs, but when using the garburator you should use cold water. Hot water softens food particles and makes them stick to your pipes; cold water hardens them, making them far easier to flush out.
Follow these three rules and you may be surprised by how long your garburator lasts you—but if you do need help replacing one, don’t hesitate to call our team of Vancouver plumbing pros!
