Many drain problems can occur in the kitchen. Mistreating your kitchen drains could lead to costly repairs and headaches, as well as a flooded dishwasher. Here are some tips to help prevent problems from happening.
Kitchen Don’ts:
Put grease down the drain. It may seem easier and more convenient to dump grease down your drain after you’ve cooked a meal. This is not recommended. While grease may be easy to drain, once it cools it becomes a trap for any other debris. This can lead to costly repairs and backups.
Overload your garbage disposal. While some food scraps can be disposed of, it is best to not dispose of non-food items, fibrous, starchy, or excessive food waste. Although your garbage disposal can do a lot, it cannot break down all food waste. This can damage your disposal and cause drain clogs.
Do not load your dishwasher with food scraps or waste. This can cause clogs, draining problems, and inefficient dishwashers. Overloaded dishwashers can cause water back-ups or blockage of the dishwasher drain hose.
Kitchen Dos:
Use cool water to flush your garbage disposal. Run water through your disposal to flush out food waste. This will prevent food from sitting in your disposal or building up. It is best to use cold water as it will keep any oily lingering in the disposal. Your garbage disposal should be regularly emptied. Regularly running your garbage disposal will help you avoid any food waste. To loosen any fats or oils stuck to your garbage disposal, it is a good idea to add a few drops of dish soap.
You should maintain your dishwasher regularly. Maintaining your dishwasher is important to ensure it runs smoothly. Clearing out the dishwasher’s filter basket is essential, especially if your dishwasher drains slowly or doesn’t clean plates properly. This will help prevent more complicated problems and clogs in your dishwasher.
These tips and tricks can prevent costly plumbing issues and ensure that your kitchen drains run smoothly. Plumbing problems can still occur, even if you do everything correctly.