We’ve said it before, garbage disposals may be the most misused appliance in existence. We stuff all sorts of food down the drain where the disposal chews it to bits and it seemingly disappears. I’ve seen some people literally clean out the refrigerator by dumping leftovers into the sink and washing them down. If only that stuff really did disappear. The food is only chopped to a paste and that paste often clings to the drainpipe and collects so always be sure to use a lot of water when using our disposal. You want that food paste to wash all the way out of the branch pipes. Truthfully, disposals are designed to handle the minor scraps left on a plate AFTER you’ve already scraped the leftovers into a trash can. If you 
use your disposal that way, you’ll never have a problem.
Here in Atlanta, the plumbers on staff at Roto-Rooter have a lot of experience fixing, installing or replacing garbage disposals. Most plumbers will agree that you get what you pay for in a garbage disposal. The cheapo builder-grade disposals that are installed in most new houses are loud and you’ll probably get five or six years out of them before their performance rapidly degrades. You’ll begin to notice it jamming more often and you’ll find you’ll have to press the little reset button on the bottom more often and then finally, it will just stop working altogether and you’ll be left with a backed up kitchen sink of dirty water.
Choose your new disposal carefully. Decide what you hated about your old one and then visit the big box handyman stores or a plumbing supply house. If noise is an issue, you’ll find very quiet models. They cost more but they also tend to perform better and last longer. Just remember that whichever model you choose, you’ll be living with it for many years to come. Finally, replacing a disposal is not an easy job for the inexperienced. It may look easy but I’ve seen plenty of people who think they’ll have it done in an hour but after three trips back to Home Depot and a lot of frustration, the job ends up taking all day or even an entire weekend. So before you take the DIY route, decide what your time is worth and consider calling an experienced Atlanta plumber to do the job for you while you do something you would rather be doing. You can even buy the disposal you want and hire Roto-Rooter to install it for you. And if you don’t know what you want, our plumber will help you decide by discussing all the options and possibilities and then he’ll get the disposal, bring it back and install it much faster than the average homeowner. Call us for a free estimate at 404-209-0001.
