Should you use hot or cold water when running a garbage disposal? 

Some people argue that hot water helps the food waste flow down the drain and keeps the garbage disposal. However, others believe that using cold water when the garbage disposal helps it from overheating. So, which of these groups is right? Should you use hot or cold water when running your garbage disposal? More importantly, why? 

Well, those are some of the issues we’ll be looking at in this blog post! 

In fact, let’s start from there; hot or cold water in a garbage disposal?

Should you use hot or cold water when running a garbage disposal? 

Running hot or boiling water down a garbage disposal will end up doing more harm than good. This is because hot water will liquefy any oil or grease in the disposal and cause it to coat the drain pipes, thus clogging the plumbing system in the long run. 

For that, it’s recommended that you always run cold water for about 15 seconds before and after using your garbage disposal to get rid of your home’s kitchen waste. Unlike hot water, cold water helps to solidify any fat, oil, and grease in the food waste. This makes it easy for the garbage disposal to grind it up and help them drain smoothly without clogging the plumbing system. Moreover, cold water keeps the disposal cool during operation, preventing its internal components from overheating. 

What happens if you run hot/ boiling water into a garbage disposal? 

As mentioned above, boiling water will liquefy the fat, oil, and grease (FOG) particles in the food waste. Normally, these fats and oils are easily ground by the garbage disposal along with the food waste and disposed of through the drain pipe.

However, when you add boiling or hot water to the garbage disposals, these oils, and grease melt and separate from the food leftovers and other kitchen waste. Unfortunately, these fats solidify again when they reach the drain pipes and stick to the walls. These fats accumulate in the pipe’s walls over time, eventually clogging the plumbing system. 

When is it okay to use hot water in a garbage disposal? 

Although it’s not a good idea to use hot water when running your garbage disposal, you can use it when cleaning the disposal. 

If you use your garbage disposal frequently, some fat contents in the food waste will stick to the walls of the grinding chamber, affecting the overall efficiency of the unit. For that, it’s important to clean the garbage disposal regularly. While there are several methods of cleaning a garbage disposal, pouring hot water into the unit is quite effective in getting rid of these fat contents. Specifically, the hot water will melt the accumulated fats and wash them down the drain. 

Can you run a garbage disposal without water? 

Running a garbage disposal without water will cause food waste to get stuck in the impellers, causing it to get jammed or clogged. Even worse, this can damage the garbage disposal. Therefore, you should not run a garbage disposal without water. Instead, you should ensure that there is a continuous stream of cold water when using the appliance to wash away all the food items down the drain without jamming it. 

Moreover, water provides lubrication during the grinding process, allowing the garbage disposal to cut down the food scraps with ease. Without water, the food scraps may damage the motor as well as the grinding components of the disposal. So, make sure you always run adequate cold water while using your garbage disposal to get rid of food scraps. 

How long should you run water when using a garbage disposal? 

As mentioned earlier, you should run water into your garbage disposal about 15 seconds before and after using it to dispose of food waste. In addition, you should run water into the unit as long as it’s running to help it grind food waste into finer particles effectively. Running water for a few seconds after turning it off helps to wash away any food particles left in the unit’s grinding chamber, keeping it clean at all times. 

How much water do you need to run a garbage disposal?

Contrary to what most people think, garbage disposals do not use a lot of water. For instance, typical garbage disposal only uses 1.3 gallons of water per day, which is equivalent to the amount of water you flush down the toilet each time. 

Therefore you don’t have to run water at full blast when throwing food scraps down a garbage disposal. Instead, you should open the kitchen faucet just a little to ensure there is a constant stream of running water when using the appliance. 

Conclusion 

While you can use hot water to clean your garbage disposal, you should only use cold water when grinding food waste into the unit. Using cold water when running your garbage disposal helps to extend the life of the unit while preventing drain and plumbing mishaps. Better yet, cold water generates enough force to facilitate the proper grinding action for all the food items you put down in the garbage disposal. At the same time, it allows the disposal to chop up hardened fats, oils, and grease in the food waste, preventing it from sticking in the drain pipes and clogging the plumbing system.