KITCHEN HELP : Keeping Drains Draining and Garbage Disposals Disposing

The holiday season usually is the busiest time of the year in America’s kitchens. It’s also the time most kitchen drains get clogged and garbage disposal systems need fixing.

Here are four tips from Roto-Rooter Corp. to avoid problems:

Don’t put banana peels, carrots, celery or other hard-to-grind fibrous waste into your garbage disposal.

Always run water for 20 seconds before and after using the unit, and never start it with a full load of garbage.

Never try to sharpen disposal blades by putting in items such as broken glass, marbles or bones, which can damage the unit.

Avoid putting any grease down drains. It builds up a coating on pipes, which leads to serious clogs. Put grease into a container and place with the trash.