What you shouldn't put down the garbage disposal

Don’t Do It! What You Should and Should Not Put Down Your Garbage Disposal

It seems like a simple thing, but it’s sometimes the simplest things that can cause the biggest problems! Let me tell you a story.  We got a bunch of free-range chickens from a local farmer.  They included the neck and all the organs as well.  I often cut those up and give them to my dogs – they LOVE them.  So as I’m washing these off, a few little items fall out of the stomach.  No big deal, right? Well, what I failed to realize was that the “free-range” chickens will end up ingesting some gravel since they’re FREE RANGE.  So as I let that rinse down my disposal, I realized UH OH!  Yup.  It broke!

Now had I followed a few simple rules on what to withhold from my garbage disposal, I wouldn’t have had to replace it.  Here are some general rules on what IS good to put down the disposal and what ISN’T.

These Items are SAFE!

  • Dish Soap

    Sometimes the disposal gets a little stinky. Dish soap works great to freshen things up a bit.

  • Soft Foods

    Things that can easily be “mushed” are fine to put down the disposal. But don’t mix up soft with pastas and oatmeal type foods in the “don’t” column.

  • Baking Soda / Vinegar

    Sprinkle a little baking soda down the drain followed by some white vinegar.  The mixture will bubble and get foamy as it cleans.  On a side note, baking soda is great as a cleanser in your sink too!

  • Cold Water

    Plenty of cold water running down the drain while the disposal is working helps flush everything down and make sure nothing sits in there to get stinky.

  • Ice Cubes

    Ice cubes can help sharpen your disposal’s blades and can also clean it off in the process.

These Items are NOT SAFE!

  • Pits from Fruits

    Pits from peaches, avocados, olives, etc. (and banana peels) are much to hard and dense and will cause damage to the disposal. A good rule of thumb is – if you can’t get a knife thru it, it won’t go thru the disposal.

  • Coffee Grounds

    It’s an old wives tale that coffee grounds are good for the disposal!  While they will improve the smell in the short term, in the long term, they’ll stick together in a dense, pasty mess (just like in the filter) and will plug everything up.

  • Rice, Pasta & Oatmeal

    Foods that expand when they’ve been soaked in water are a recipe for disaster.  Given that your sink and pipes are rich in water, these types of foods can absorb the water, expand and cause clogs throughout your plumbing.

  • Bones

    Cooked bones don’t grind up into small pieces and instead splinter. Not only are they sharp (and harmful to both you and your pets), they can get stuck in the disposal itself or the pipes and cause problems in operation AND retrieval.

  • Certain Vegetables

    Vegetables with skins and fibrous vegetables like celery, rhubarb, potato peels, onion skins, corn husks, lettuce, pumpkin, and asparagus to name a few should not be put down the disposal.  Many have thin layers and stringy particles that can slip thru the blades of the disposal and wind up wedged in the drain and then catch other items that come down afterward.

I was down at my in-laws house in Florida.  They told me to put EVERYTHING down the disposal.  Their theory was that doing so kept things out of the trash and cut down the bugs and pests that might come in the house in tropical weather.  But it seemed counter-intuitive to me.  Wouldn’t you have more problems with plumbing and the disposal itself that would negate the benefits?  I mean, how hard is it to just take out the trash more often?

While this should seem obvious, let’s just say it – grease/fat, egg shells, hard seafood shells (like crab and oysters), banana peels, paper towels, candy wrappers, and more don’t belong down your disposal even though it’s called a GARBAGE disposal!  Scrape your plate out in the garbage can first before you rinse it off.  Your disposal will have a much longer life and your drains will remain clog-free!

Published On: October 2nd, 2020 | Categories: Residential Plumbing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

READ RELATED ARTICLES

Closing or Opening the summer cabin for the year
Preparing Your Plumbing for Winter and Spring

Preparing Your Plumbing for Winter and Spring

October 1st, 2020
9 Ideas to Make the Most of a Small Bathroom
9 Ideas to Make the Most of a Small Bathroom

9 Ideas to Make the Most of a Small Bathroom

September 17th, 2020
Shutting off the Water in Your Home
DIY Tip: How to Shut Off the Main Water Supply

DIY Tip: How to Shut Off the Main Water Supply

September 16th, 2020

Contact us for your next plumbing project!