Did you know a little ice can work wonders for your garbage disposal? That’s right—using ice is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways to keep your disposal clean and in top shape. Here’s how it works, why it’s helpful, and when it might be time to give us a call at Aqua Knight Plumbing.
Why Ice Works Wonders for Your Disposal
When you toss a handful of ice cubes into your garbage disposal, they do more than just make a crunching noise. The ice helps knock off food debris, residue, and gunk that can build up over time. It’s a bit like sending in a mini team of “scrubbers” that get rid of grime without damaging your blades. Here’s how ice helps:
- Sharpening the Blades: As the ice breaks apart, it creates a natural grinding effect that helps keep your disposal’s blades sharper.
- Removing Residue: Ice chips away at the grease, food particles, and buildup that cling to the inside of your disposal. This is especially useful for breaking up any bits of food that may be stuck.
- Deodorizing Naturally: With less grime hanging around, your garbage disposal will smell fresher! Adding a bit of lemon peel or vinegar ice cubes to the mix can give it an extra boost of cleanliness and a pleasant scent.
How Often Should You Do It?
Cleaning your garbage disposal with ice is easy to incorporate into your routine and doesn’t need to be done every day. Here’s a quick guideline:
- Once a Week: For regular maintenance, once a week is plenty. Simply drop a handful of ice cubes into the disposal, turn on the cold water, and run the disposal until all the ice is ground up.
- After Cooking Heavy Meals: If you’ve cooked a big meal that involved a lot of food scraps or grease, an ice “cleaning session” right after can help keep things moving smoothly.
This simple routine can go a long way in keeping your disposal performing like a champ. And if you like to multitask, you can even do it while you’re tidying up the kitchen—just another excuse to put off folding laundry!
When to Call a Pro
While ice is a great DIY cleaning method, there are a few times when you should let a professional handle it:
- Persistent Odors: If your disposal still smells funky after you’ve tried ice and other cleaning methods, it could mean there’s food trapped deeper in the system. A plumber can give it a more thorough cleaning.
- Unusual Noises or Jams: Grinding noises that don’t sound right or recurring jams could be a sign of a problem with the motor or blades.
- Poor Performance: If your disposal isn’t chopping up food as well as it used to, it may need a tune-up or repair.
At Aqua Knight Plumbing, we’re here to help keep your kitchen running smoothly. So go ahead, give your garbage disposal an ice-cold scrub-down! And if it needs a bit more TLC, don’t hesitate to give us a call.
