When running your disposer, always turn on the cold water before adding food. Then add the waste food slowly, especially if you are disposing of coffee grounds or eggshells. Never pack large quantities of food in the grind chamber or you could clog the drain. Also, never add foods that contain fibers, such as celery sticks, corn husks, or artichoke hearts. After you have completed grinding, let the cold water run for about ten seconds. The water flushes the food particles through the discharge outlet and keeps the grinding chamber clean.

Prevent your disposal drain from clogging by periodically running cold water and putting ice cubes or citrus rinds in the grind chamber. Some larger models can grind small bones and fruit pits. These hard materials will keep the grate clean and reduce odors from the drain. Another way to reduce odors is to pour a mixture of ammonia and warm water in the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes. You can also plug the sink with the stopper and then fill the sink with about one gallon of water, mix ¼ of baking soda to water, turn on the disposal, and remove the stopper. The high flow of water will flush food particles from the grinding chamber and help reduce odors. It is a good practice to disassemble your drain line and remove the sludge from the pipes every few years and to use an enzymatic drain cleaner to keep pipes clean.

When you purchase a garbage disposer, buy one that is large enough to handle the load you put into it. Spending a little more money on a larger disposal can save you time and money otherwise spent on unclogging the drains or hiring a plumber to clean the drain line.