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Garbage disposal clogs are more or less a way of life: at some point, majority of households shall experience their garbage disposal refusing to drain or perhaps jamming.  Fortunately, most of the causes for these problems are easily remediable.  Here we discuss what you should do when your garbage disposal clogs.
The first thing to do, always, is to disconnect the garbage disposal from the power source.  This is a safety precaution that should be done each time you open, repair, or inspect the parts of your disposal that have the potential to injure you.  It is all well and good to be confident that you are not a clumsy person, but it is far better still to be certain and unplug the device.  It costs you nothing to do, whereas a single small accident could cost you a finger.
Now it is time to check the most likely culprit here.  Most often, when a garbage disposal clogs or seems to be draining at a trickle, the issue may be found in the drain itself.  The first thing to try is to use a regular drain cleaner to loosen and dislodge the clog.  If that still does not work, it is time to put on your rubber gloves (if you have issues with getting your hands dirty) and take on the drain tap.  First, you have to detach the drain tap from the disposals discharge pipe or outlet, to see if it has any clogs in it.  Most clogs shall be found here and may be cleaned away easily, but if you see nothing, the problem may be in the pipe itself (or the part of the pipe that goes into the wall).  To fix that, you shall have to use a drain or pipe snake into it and use that to dislodge the clog.
Sometimes, a disposal may jam too when tough objects fall in it.  When this happens, you should try to locate the obstruction with your eyes (remember to use a flashlight, of course), and then use some handy pincers or tongs to extract the object.  If this does not work, there is the recourse of the Allen wrench.  Almost all disposals have a hole into which this wrench shall fit, and the hole is found at the bottom of the device.  Insert the wrench here and use it to turn the disposal one way and another until the clog comes free.

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Good, quality water heaters last for a decade or more without any real issues, but that is only if they are well-maintained.  Below are 7 smart maintenance tips for prolonging the life of your water heater as well as for making it more efficient.

1. You should give your water heaters storage tank an insulating jacket.  This can bring down the standby heat loss associated with such water heaters and can result in almost 10% savings for your energy costs.  Fibreglass insulation is often used for this and may simply be taped to the tank.

2. Flush the tank at least once a year.  This ensures that any residue or sediment deposits in the tank are properly disposed of before enough of the silt accumulates to become a problem.  To flush your heaters storage tank, all you need to do is turn off the power, disconnect the cold water supply, then use a hosepipe to pump water into the tank through the drain cock, using the temperature/pressure relief valve as your draining outlet.  Check the outflow for muddiness or discolouration and do not stop the flushing until the water coming out is perfectly clear.

3. If you are using a gas water heater that needs a pilot light, learn how to relight it after it has been turned off.  The instructions for this are usually included in the product literature.  Knowing how to relight it means you can put it out when you have to go on a vacation or long holiday.

4. If you are leaving your house for a long time and no one shall be using the water, turn off the thermostat on your heater.

5. Again for gas water heaters, constantly check that the vent is working properly.  Also known as the flue, this part of the installation is responsible for proper air ventilation.  To check if it is working as it should, you may light a match or candle next to the device or near the vent.  If the vent is working as it should, the smoke should travel up the vent.

6. Check your water heater for rust at least once each year.  You can do this using the same procedure outlined in tip number 2, checking the outflow from the tank for a rusty colour or rust particles.

7. Check your anode rod every now and then.  Also called a sacrificial rod, this eventually wears out and needs to be replaced due to the corrosion that eats away at it.  You may inspect this by simply draining out some water from the tank until you can unscrew the sacrificial rod from its position and take it out.

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