I have a tenant who says she rarely uses her garbage disposal. However, it is seized up when she does try to use it. Is it just rusting to the point it won't turn? If so, is there a way to lubricate it to keep it from rusting?
What makes you think it is rust? Could be what she is putting in it forming a crust over time and causing it to stall. I bet if she flippied it on for just a second every couple of days it would be better.
It i also possible the disposal is 30 years old with dried up bearings.
Tell her to run it more often. It is getting jammed up by stuff she does not think requires the disposal to get rid of. A dishwasher is famous for that.
This is typical of disposals, which is one of the things that makes them a major pain in the butt. Consider eliminating the disposal completely, you will save money and reduce tenant complaints. It is just as easy to put food waste in the kitchen garbage can.
Or for the tenant to then just put it down the drain. I wouldn't have a kitchen sink without one. I don't put big stuff down there, but it's perfect for all the small scraps left from prep work, debris that comes off dirty pots, etc.
As for the problem, it may be bearings starting to go, running it at least a couple times a week might keep it going though.
Ï am curious as to your use of the word "typical". Based on my experie nce of roughly 30 years of having a garbage disposal in my house and one in each half of a duplex that other family members lived in, I have replaced the disposal in each of the houses once. I would estimate that the old, noisy ones lasted 15 - 20 years. The InSinkE rators that I replaced them with are much quieter are still going strong.
As far as jamming, my old Kenmore POS used to jam and required the use of t he reversing wrench every now and then, but the InSinkErators have been jam fr ee since installation well over 10 years ago. (Plus it's so quiet that I sometimes f orget it's on until I turn the water off)
Has your experience been that disposals seize up on a regular basis?
I have to disagree on the "just as easy to put food waste in the garbage ca n" comment also. A quick rinse of food scraps into the drain and the flip of a switch is pretty darn easy. Much easier than using the standard sink strainer basket to catch the scrap s and then dumping it, rinsing it, etc.
IMHO, of course.
The wording of the OP is kind of strange. The author says that when she tries to use it "it is seized up". Not that it seizes up, but that it *is* seized up. There no mention of how it becomes unseized or if it ever does.
Perhaps it is just jammed and needs to be reversed with the wrench to free up whatever is causing the "seize".
As usual, more details would help.
I have seen them seize just from sitting there, not used for a week or two. I don't think new quality ones do it, but cheap failing ones I have seen. It's probably going to go before too long, but using it every few days may keep it going for a while.
We have rentals. The garbage disposals have always been the #1 cause of repair calls for us. Eliminating the disposals dramatically reduced repair visits and the tenants easily adapted to their absence. I also did not experience any increase in drain clogs.
When I replaced the disposals, I used very high quality sink strainers that do an excellent job of filtering out everything from bits of food to animal fur and hair.
As always, your personal experiences might be different, but I prefer to have the lowest maintenance investments possible. Additionally, being in California, anything we can do to reduce water use is a positive thing.
Thanks Derby. I agree, the problem description was so bad as to be incomprehensible. (To me.) How the hell can someone "rarely" use something that is seized up? If it's seized up, you can't use it at all.
I have a disposal, I like it fine. It's never been jammed if that's what the OP is trying to say. If it jams, use the key to free it up and stop putting things in there that jam it up.
If these are tenants, sure you can take away appliances and then they can never call and complain the appliances don't work.
Perzactly.
Tru Dat.
My daughter recently moved into an apartment. The disposal was old, loud and leaking. We put it on the punch list of the things that needed attention and gave it to the landlord. The disposal was replaced with a brand new (quiet) one the next day.
As they say, different strokes.
Yep.
When I had my first disposal installed, the contractor went for an Insinkerator base model. It was pretty loud and only lasted 4 or 5 years before leaking. I went and bought another Insinkerator and saw that they sell base models and really good lifetime guaranteed models. I think I'm at about 12 years now. It's quiet and does the job.
Her landlord probably realizes the more expensive unit means less problems, making it cheapest solution in the long run.
In this house I'm on my second KitchenAid (sibling of InSinkErator) in
36 years.
Many disposals, when not used often, will stick due to corrosion. One can use the wood handle of a cheap hammer or other similar object to free them up.
As for taking away appliances; if it doesn't reduce the amount of rent you can charge (it doesn't) and if it doesn't benefit the property owner (they don't) and if they require more attention than, let's say a water heater, then it doesn't make sense to include them, IMHO.
It's also probably the reason that the landlord told us that the tenants in the other
3 apartments have been there for going on 10 years each. The apartment my daughter moved into was occupied for 8 years by the prior tenant. His job took him out of town.Treat 'em right and they hang around. That's gotta be cheaper in the long run too.
Oren posted for all of us...
Proctoscope?
OK...umm...err...I mean...Ouch!
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