1. Putting Ice Cubes Sharpens Disposal Blades
Grinding ice in a disposal can help remove gunk stuck inside the chamber, but it won’t sharpen the blades. That’s because a disposal don’t have blades, it has impellers with teeth that grind up waste using centrifugal force.
2. You Should Run Hot Water When Using the Garbage Disposal
While it’s true that grease dissolves more easily in hot water, once it makes contact with a colder section of pipe further down the drain, it will attach to the pipe more easily along with the waste that follows. By using cold water the grease will remain in a more solid state so it’s more likely to make to travel down the drain. Cold water also keeps your disposals motor running cooler, helping it last longer.
3. Placing a Brick In the Toilet Tank Saves Water
While placing a brick in the toilet tank can reduce the amount of water used to flush by displacing some water, it’s not a good idea. First, most modern toilets are designed to use as little water as possible. Reducing the amount of water reduces the force of the flush, which can cause plumbing problems, and an incomplete flush. Second, a brick can deteriorate inside the tank creating debris that can cause rubber and plastic parts to wear out faster.
4. But It Said They Were Flushable…
As “flushable” wipes have become more popular in recent years, so have clogged drain pipes. They simply don’t break down as well as regular toilet paper. Save yourself a mess and a visit from your plumber …never flush anything down the toilet other than regular old toilet paper.
5. Using a Water Softener Adds Unhealthy Amounts of Sodium To Water
One of the ways a traditional water softener works is by flushing hard water through rock salt. This does increase the amount of sodium to between 10-300 milligrams per quart, depending on how hard the water is. By comparison, a quart of milk has 488 milligrams of sodium. So the amount of sodium in softened water is quite low. If you desire softened water without any added sodium, consider a reverse osmosis water treatment system.
