When the summer heat rolls into Houston, it brings more than just triple-digit temps and stifling humidity. It also changes how we cook, clean, and use our kitchens. Between backyard barbecues, family cookouts, and visiting guests, summertime usually means more dishes to wash, more food to prep, and more wear on your garbage disposal.
While your disposal is built to handle everyday scraps, summer food waste presents a more formidable challenge. Watermelon rinds, corn husks, greasy grill pans, and rib bones aren’t exactly “light duty” for your disposal. Add in the temptation to rinse everything down the drain after a big party, and you’ve got a perfect storm for clogs, jams, and even complete breakdowns.
What Poor Garbage Disposal Summer Habits Can Cause Breakdowns?
Overloading After BBQs or Parties
Summertime get-togethers lead to heavier kitchen use—and even a heavier load of food waste. It’s common to toss significant amounts of scraps down the drain in a hurry, especially when cleaning up after a crowd. That said, overloading your garbage disposal can dull the blades, overheat the motor, or cause it to lock up entirely. Bones and dense food items can crack or jam internal components, forcing the motor to work harder or to give up altogether.
Grease and Oil Buildup
Pouring hot cooking grease down the drain might seem harmless in the moment, but as it cools, it hardens into this thick, gummy sludge that clings to the inside of your pipes and disposal walls. Over time, this sticky buildup will trap other food particles and other debris, eventually forming a clog that backs up waste into your sink.
Tough and Fibrous Summer Produce
Summer produce like corn, melons, and leafy greens often come with hard rinds or stringy fibers. Corn husks and celery strings can tangle in the impellers, while watermelon rinds or fruit pits can stop the blades completely. This isn’t a level of trash that is simply a little more challenging to grind—it’s a situation that can be risky to your disposal’s lifespan.
Neglected Cleaning and Maintenance
Disposals that see more use in the summer are also going to require more of your attention, which means practicing a little DIY drain maintenance. When food particles and other debris get stuck in the grinding chamber, they can cause unpleasant odors. Over time, neglected debris can harden or start to grow mold, affecting performance. If your disposal hums but doesn’t grind when turned on, it might be dealing with an internal buildup issue instead of a mechanical fault.
How Can I Tell If My Garbage Disposal Is Failing?
If your garbage disposal starts acting up more often during the summer, it’s probably not a coincidence, as increased usage tends to amplify minor problems.
- Humming But Not Grinding: This typically means something is stuck in the impeller or the motor is straining as a result of a blockage.
- Frequent Jams or Slow Draining: A sign that food waste or grease buildup is slowing down the system.
- Persistent Bad Smells: Trapped debris and bacterial growth can cause foul odors that linger even after rinsing.
- Leaking from the Base or Sides: Indicates that internal seals or gaskets have worn out, possibly from overuse.
These are all symptoms that your disposal is overworked—and lax summer plumbing habits are probably to blame.
How to Prevent Summer Garbage Disposal Damage
Most disposal problems can be avoided with a few simple changes to how you use the appliance:
- Break Up Food Waste: Feed small portions into the disposal slowly rather than dumping a whole plate of scraps in at once.
- Run Hot Water: Always let the hot water run for several seconds before, during, and after using the disposal. It helps move debris through the pipes and flushes away as much waste as possible.
- Keep Starchy and Fibrous Foods Out of the Disposal: Kitchen waste like potato peels, pasta, corn husks, and banana peels should be thrown into the trash instead. These foods can swell, end up wrapped around the impeller, or get trapped somewhere inside the disposal mechanism.
- Try Some DIY Tricks to Help Your Disposal: Throw a handful of ice cubes down the drain and run the disposal to knock loose some of the debris. Follow that up with a baking soda and vinegar flush – use one cup of each, pouring the baking soda first, followed by the vinegar. Failure to follow the steps in this order will leave you with a dry lump of baking soda in your sink and a puzzled look on your face. If you do it right, it’ll take you right back to that volcano you made in 5th-grade science class. Now, throw some citrus peels or small lemon wedges into the disposal and run it -along with some hot water-to clear out any remaining odors.
- Don’t Ever Pour Grease Down the Drain: Allow it to cool and solidify, and dispose of it in the trash to prevent pipe-clogging buildup. As you’re moving it to the garbage can, ask yourself if you want that oily clump hanging out in your drain or sewer lines.
With just a little extra care, it’s easy to keep your disposal running smoothly—even during the busiest kitchen season of the year.
When Should I Call for Garbage Disposal Repair in Houston?
If your disposal stops working entirely, there are a couple of DIY tricks that may get it back up and running. You may be able to fix it by pressing the reset button—usually located on the bottom of the unit. But when that doesn’t work, or the same issue continues to occur, it’s time to get professional disposal repair help.
- The Reset Button Doesn’t Work: This indicates a more serious internal issue than a simple motor overload.
- The Disposal Hums But Won’t Spin: Likely caused by jammed blades or a seized motor.
- Sink Water Backs Up: Usually, the sign of a clog in the drain line or perhaps a failure in the grinding mechanism.
- Visible Leaks or Strange Noises: These are signs of worn-out seals, loose components, or a motor on its last legs.
At Nick’s Plumbing, we’ve handled just about every possible garbage disposal failure you can imagine, and they always seem to spike during Houston summers. Whether your blades are jammed or the motor’s gone radio silent, we’ll quickly diagnose and repair the issue, or install a new unit if necessary. Nick’s wants to get you back to enjoying your summertime activities without worrying about your garbage disposal.
Why Choose Nick’s Plumbing for Garbage Disposal Repair?
Nick’s Plumbing has been serving Houston homeowners across six decades, so we’re intimately familiar with the unique challenges that come with summer plumbing issues. From holiday cookout cleanups to mystery clogs from your kid’s “science experiment,” our licensed technicians have seen it all.
Nick’s Plumbing offers friendly service, honest pricing, and repairs done right the first time. Same-day availability is often possible, especially for emergency issues like drain and sewer line backups and water supply pipe leaks.
If your garbage disposal is humming, leaking, or just plain stuck—don’t wait. Give Nick’s a call and let us get things grinding again.
