Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

Garbage disposals are supposed to make life easier, right? But, on an organic homestead where most kitchen scraps are either fed to chickens or composted this kitchen appliance can be more of a pain than its worth. Because it’s not used very often kitchen sinks get clogged, drain slowly and most of all smell sour.

Rather than remove it all together try these tips for using it wisely, even when it’s used sparingly.

Use the disposal every few days to keep it from rusting, corroding or getting gunked up.

Always use the disposal with a strong flow of cold water to help solidify grease and oils. Warm or hot water liquefies oils and can cause clogging.

When using the disposal keep it and the water running until everything is ground up well, then let the water run for about 20 seconds more before turning it off.

Grinding eggs shells, small pits and bones will help “scour” and “scrub” the walls of the disposal.

Cut large foods, like melon rinds, into small bits and grind them one-by-one so you don’t over work the disposal.

Don’t grind fibrous foods like artichokes, celery or corn husks because they don’t grind up well and can clog the drain.

For a good deep cleaning when you don’t want to use damaging bleach or drain cleaners, pour 1/3 cup of Borax into the drain and let stand for about an hour. Rinse thoroughly with hot water to move the Borax down the drain.

For a fresh disposal all year long, grind citrus peels, like lemon, orange, grapefruit.