You May Need Water Damage Restoration After A Garbage Disposal Leak

Garbage disposals are one of the most useful appliances in your kitchen. Over time, water may seep through some of the areas where your disposal connects to the rest of your plumbing system. However, a unit typically lasts seven or fewer years than mechanical failure can lead to home water damage. These leaks may leave puddles under your sink, pool on the floor by your cabinet, or drip from under the garbage disposal itself. It’s easy to mistake a dishwasher or sink leak for a disposal leak so have a water damage restoration team find the cause and repair. 

A full-service water damage restoration team like Southeast Restoration will be able to repair any resulting damage to the wooden cabinets, tile, grout, or sheetrock. 

For Best Results

Maximize the use of your garbage disposal by keeping it in good operating condition. Run your garbage disposal on a regular basis. Turn on the water and run the disposal every few days. Any leftover food inside could harden, leading to odors and clogs, so use dishwashing detergents that de-grease your dishes. Grease is the ‘glue’ that holds bacteria causing odors in your drain pipes and adds to the likelihood of slow draining clogs.

After your garbage disposal has finished grinding up the waste, keep it and the water running for a minute to ensure that all the food has been flushed out. Every once in awhile grind up peels from citrus fruits like lemons or oranges. The peel will help clear excess waste in the disposal and eliminate any unpleasant odors; natural acidity helps suppress the bacterial growth associated with odors.

Do Not

• Do not use bleach and water to clean your disposal. Bleach will harden grease in your drain lines and is very caustic. 
• Do not grind up potato peelings, banana peels, or cooked pasta. They will form a starchy paste and stringy fibers to clog the drain.
• Do not put coffee grounds or eggshells into your disposal. They create very tiny granular waste that will stick to any sludge in the pipe. Dispose of them in the trash. 

Why Is It Leaking?

Like any appliance with moving parts and water supply, these systems can leak. Over time, you’ll see signs of water damage but it’s easy to mistake a dishwasher or sink leak for a disposal leak. Have a water damage restoration team like SRG find the cause of any leak that seems like it could be coming from your disposal.

Common Causes

• Garbage disposals are connected to your sink with a flange or plumber’s putty. This seal can corrode and loosen over time. It can also leak if the unit is hit hard enough to loosen the seal, often from doing other plumbing work under the sink). This problem can unusually be corrected by resealing using plumber’s putty. 
• If your garbage disposal is leaking out of the bottom (and not from higher up), the most likely cause is an internal seal has worn out over time. In this situation, the fix is a new garbage disposal. Since the units usually last 5-7 years, the effort to repair is usually worse than to replace.
• Another commonplace for the garbage disposal to leak is where the drain lines connect. You’ll see two connections on the side of your garbage disposal.; you might just need to tighten or reseal. 

Watch Out For Mold

After water damage in the kitchen, look everywhere for signs of mold. It can also grow in the kitchen, inside cabinets, and between walls. Mold is very hazardous since disturbing the mold will cause it to release spores. Our water damage restoration team has the equipment and expertise to manage any mold problems after water damage in your kitchen.

Water Damage Restoration In Athens

Whether you need emergency water damage services, or some help preventing damage to your home, call Athens’ experts. Our water damage restoration experts provide professional service: deodorization, complete sanitizing, air ducts cleaning, odor removal, structural repairs. Southeast Restoration Group is licensed in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee.