Tag: garbage disposals

What Are the Benefits of Having a Garbage Disposal?

Posted on | by Drainiacs

Reasons To Get A Garbage Disposal Unit For Your Home

 

Garbage DisposalInstalling a garbage disposal unit in your home adds convenience to kitchen and daily life. While a garbage can work for some items, garbage disposals have the ability to rid a kitchen of unwanted odors and the danger of toxic bacteria. Garbage disposals also decrease the need to make trips to take the garbage out of the home. For those with a busy schedule, a garbage disposal unity can also lower the amount of work a homemaker or homeowner needs to do on a regular basis. Additionally, it last for many years with very little maintenance or cleaning needed.

A garbage disposal unit works by shredding waste products and is installed beneath the kitchen sink. When turned on, the motor spins at about 2,000 revolutions every minute turning food waste into pulp. As kitchen water runs while the unit is on, it flushes the food waste through a tube and eventually into the sewer. For some households, the waste goes to the septic system. If this is the case in your home, you will need to make sure the septic system is able to handle the volume of waste from the garbage disposal as well as the building codes.

Homeowners should install a garbage disposal unit that has a minimum of 3/4 horsepower to ensure that any food waste is shredded completely. This is especially important for households that have waste drainage to a septic system. A good unit should also have an automatic turn off mechanism in case the unit becomes jammed or overheated.

When it comes to installing a unit, it is best to have a professional plumber do the work. A garbage disposal has a great deal of moving parts with sharp blades that can be dangerous to work with for an inexperienced installer. Given this, minor repairs can typically be handled by a homeowner, but more serious repairs should be left for a professional.

Are you interested in installing a garbage disposal in your West Covina home? Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 and get started today!

Why Is My Garbage Disposal Not Working?

Posted on | by Drainiacs

Reasons Why Your Garbage Disposal Gets Jammed

 

West Covina Garbage-Disposal-ServicesGarbage disposal is a very useful contraption. Designed to help cut down on the amount of garbage in the household and reduce odors in the kitchen, the garbage disposal is built into the sink and shreds waste dumped into it. Once the waste is shredded, it is able to pass through the plumbing. Unpleasant scents associated with rotting garbage do right down the tubes with the food waste.

Using a garbage disposal is simple. Small food items are dropped or pushed through the rubber flaps covering the opening in the sink. The disposal is then switched on, causing the shredder blade inside to start moving. It is best to run cold water during this process to help flush the shredded items down the pipe.

Since the disposal is connected to plumbing, it is important to be cautious of clogging the pipes. Items that cannot be shredded by the blades in the mechanism, for instance, may fall down into the pipe, causing backups and jams. Large items may sit on top of the blades or jam them. Particular food items can also get wrapped around blades or other waste, halting all flow.

To avoid such issues, be sure to think before dropping items at the disposal. If any waste is large, cut it up ahead of time. For instance, if disposing of orange peels, chop the peels up into small pieces before dropping them into the device.

Never put hard waste materials, like bones or kernels, into the disposal because it will not be able to shred the material and may even dull the blades. Fibrous materials, like corn husks, may also be too sturdy for the blades to shred. Hair and similar materials, though not strong, can tangle around blades or other shredded items.

Also, avoid putting starchy foods like bread, flour, or eggs down the disposal. These items, especially when mixed with the water that goes down the pipes as well, can form sticky, thick substances that do not move through plumbing easily. Dispose of such materials by composting or through the traditional trash.

Is the garbage disposal in your West Covina home acting up? Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 and schedule a service call today!

10 Easy Things To Do (And Not To Do) To Avoid Calling A Plumber

Posted on | by Drainiacs

Plumbing problems can be a major pain, especially when they occur at the most unexpected, and sometimes most crucial moments.  For example, picture yourself having a nice holiday gathering at your home.  You’re right about serving a wonderful dinner that you have slaved to cook for hours over the stove for when all of a sudden your plumbing backs up!  What a mess!  Calling a plumber at a time like this might be your only option, but there are many ways to prevent this mess from ever occurring.  Below are 10 easy things to do (and not to do) to avoid calling a plumber.  Some of these may sound very trivial and some even completely obvious, but year after year, we find the same exact problems springing up in homes all around our general service area in Los Angeles County, with people disheartened by the damper it has put on their day.  So before that next big event at your home, or even just as a daily or monthly cleaning and prevention plan, remember these tips!

  • Don’t put grease down your drain!  Grease solidifies and clogs drains very easily.
  • Don’t use your garbage disposal as a trash can and dump large amounts of food & scraps down it, they build up and will either cause it to back up or break down.
  • Always turn on the water before turning on the garbage disposal, and keep it running for at least 30 seconds after turning it off to wash the waste down the drain.
  • Try to scrape off as much scrap food on plates and dishes into the trash, before rinsing in your sink, and especially before entering your dishwasher.
  • Try to keep the area around your sink clear of any small objects such as utensils and other kitchen gadgets that can easily slip down the drain into the garbage disposal and/or pipes.
  • Don’t dispose of any paper towels, cleaning wipes, sanitary wipes, or sanitary napkins down the toilet.  These almost always cause toilets to clog.  (Tip: Avoid making these items available in guest bathrooms altogether, as guest bathrooms are usually the ones that get backed up first.)
  • Once every two weeks pour about 2 tablespoons of regular liquid dish soap (preferably w/ a degreaser) down the drain, followed by about 1 quart of boiling water.  This will help cut down the grease and buildup in your pipes to help avoid future clogs.
  • If you begin to notice the water pressure on any of your faucets getting low, try this: Fill a small sandwich-sized baggie with vinegar.  Put the baggie over the faucet so the facet is completely submerged in the vinegar, and tie it down with a rubber band or two.  Leave it sitting overnight.  That should break down the mineral build-up and clear the holes that caused the pressure to backup.
  • Don’t use a liquid drain cleaner if there is already a clog!  Once the clog is past your drain, the harsh chemicals in liquid drain cleaner will sit in your pipes and eat away at them, which will eventually cause even bigger problems.
  • Instead, if you begin to notice a clog or water backing up, try this: Take out as much of the standing water as possible, then pour about 1 cup of baking soda down the drain followed by about 1 cup of vinegar.  The bubbling action should cut through most clogs.  Once the drain starts running, pour about 1 quart of boiling water down the drain to flush out the remaining material.

Just like your teeth, although prevention through brushing is always your best bet to avoid any problems, sometimes cavities still occur.  In this case, although you may follow each of these steps religiously (or at least just a few), problems sometimes still have their way of rising to the surface.  In this case, don’t hesitate or wait until the last minute, give us a call today to get your FREE ESTIMATE or click here to request service online today!  You don’t want to end up knee deep in brown water at your next big family gathering while the turkey is in the oven, so don’t forget these tips, or if you’re already there, give us a call as soon as possible!  We’re always on call to help serve all of your plumbing needs.  24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  We also do annual drain cleaning and inspections at a discounted rate.  Just give us a call and ask us how to get signed up!