The hustle and bustle of preparing and cleaning up Thanksgiving dinner causes some consumers to unintentionally push their disposers to the limit. Customer service calls increase by nearly 50 percent the day after the holiday due to disposer and plumbing mishaps, making it one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers.
With this uncertain economical time, consumers are looking for ways to cut costs and stretch their dollars. Helping customers avoid costly plumbing repairs – particularly around the holidays – can assist plumbers in paving the way for ongoing business opportunities and garner positive referrals.
One of the first steps in avoiding a plumbing disaster on Thanksgiving is for consumers to determine if their disposer needs to be replaced, according to David MacNair, vice president of marketing at InSinkErator. MacNair said replacing a disposer in advance of a problem can save on costly repairs down the line.
"The average life expectancy of a disposer is 8-12 years," said MacNair. "And if the disposer is old enough to vote, it is time to consider replacing it with an advanced model like the Evolution Excel. It is designed to quietly grind bones, celery and corn cobs without clogging or jamming."
If replacing the disposer is not an option before Thanksgiving, MacNair said InSinkErator – the world's largest manufacturer of food waste disposers – has usage tips that plumbers can provide their customers to conquer clog culprits:
- Don't put grease or fat down the disposer or any drain. It can build up in pipes and cause blockage. Instead, pour grease into a glass jar or container, and then discard in the trash once it solidifies.
- Do run cold water down the drain for several seconds before and after disposer use to flush food waste through the plumbing system and keep debris from settling in the pipes.
- Don't hurry through clean-up as this is one of the main reasons users overfill their disposers.
- Do grind hard materials such as small bones, fruit pits and ice. It helps scrape the inside of the disposer and pipes, removing any build up that might be there.
- Don't use the disposer like a garbage can. Avoid letting non-food items like tea bags, bread ties andnapkin rings fall into the sink as they can cause jams.
Did you know?
Another reason for consumers to purchase and/or use a food waste disposer is because it is environmentally friendly. Using a disposer helps reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfills, and this in turn, reduces the amount of greenhouse gasses that are released by landfills. Food waste put into a disposer is transported through sewer pipes to wastewater treatment plants where it can be converted to energy and recycled into agricultural fertilizer.Additional information on food waste disposers can be found at www.insinkerator.com.
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