This time of year, with all the cooking and entertaining that is happening in your home, your garbage disposal can get quite the workout. In fact, a clogged kitchen sink is one of the most common plumbing problems homeowners encounter.

To avoid clogs and to keep the disposal working optimally, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing provided these easy tips for homeowners.

Tips to Maintain Your Garbage Disposal:

1. When you turn it on to dispose of the food waste, always do so while running cold water at the same time. Avoid warm/hot water, as it melts down grease which then coats the inside of your pipes. That can lead to bigger problems down the road. Plus, using cold water is more eco-friendly.
2. With the cold water running, allow the disposal to run for 60 seconds. Don’t just turn it on for a few seconds and then off again.
3. Once it’s run for 60 seconds, turn off the disposal. Allow the cold water to run for another 30 seconds to ensure all the waste fully flushes through the pipes.
4. It’s good to pulverize ice cubes in the garbage disposal. It’s the best way to keep the blades sharp and the disposal clean.
5. To keep it smelling fresh, you can run baking soda and vinegar through it once a month or more. Sometimes even grinding up half a lemon or lime through it will help freshen it as well.

These five simple steps will help keep your garbage disposal working efficiently – and smelling fresh and clean.