By now the leftovers from Thanksgiving, if you still have any, are ready to be thrown out.  In fact, it’s probably not a bad time to clean out the refrigerator and make room for all the Christmas treats that will start showing up as we approach the big day.  There are cookies and fruit cakes to bake and potluck dishes to create for all the upcoming parties.  This is the season of food!  So, with all the abuse your garbage disposal will take this month, we thought we'd dedicate a little space towards offering some tips to help keep it running and smelling great.

   The first and most important consideration you can make to keep your disposer operating like it should is to put the right food items in it.   Or more to the point, avoid putting the wrong things in it.  Fibrous foods such as sweet potatoes and corn husks do not break down well in a disposer and can become tangled in the blades.  You may have heard that bones are okay to grind down the drain and that they can help clean the unit.  But be cautious, the discharge at the bottom of the disposer is much smaller than the grinding cavity and if a bone were to become lodged in the drain sideways it would catch other waste and cause a stoppage.  Another, safer alternative to using bones to clean the machine is ice because it will melt after it is crushed.

   A great way to help control drain odor with your disposer is to run citrus peels and baking soda through the unit.  An even better practice you can adopt to keep your drains clear and fresh is to use a microbial additive.  These solutions are biologically engineered with bacteria that feed on organic waste yet are safe for your drain lines and the environment.  We use and recommend an enzyme formula called BioOne.  You can learn more about microbial drain line cleaners and BioOne in the article on page 6.  Finally, be kind to your garbage disposal this season.  Don't use it for everything.  Many holiday kitchen stoppages are caused from over taxing these little units.

   Good luck and remember if you should suffer a stoppage this holiday season, we’re always only a phone call away.