What Is Not Safe to Put Down My Garbage Disposal?
- Forrest Anderson
- May 10, 2022
- 2 min read
One of the hardest working tools in your kitchen is the garbage disposal. These machines are often abused and expected to chop all kinds of food into small pieces. You will quickly discover that there are foods for the garbage disposal that are harmful to it. If you treat your garbage disposal the way you should, it is far less likely to break down on you. Here are a few tips about the worst foods for the garbage disposal.
Big Piles of Anything
One of the most certain ways to break this essential appliance is to stuff large pieces of leftover food down it. Smaller pieces will fare much better in your garbage disposal. Take the time to put items down it in small quantities.
Egg Shells
There is some controversy about putting egg shells down the kitchen sink. Some people think it is okay, but even these innocent looking items can cause a problem. The shredder ring of the disposal can become cluttered and damaged from the membrane of egg shells. If you have a septic tank, forget about putting these into the sink. Egg shells cannot be broken down by the bacterium in your septic tank.
Vegetables and Fruit with High Fibers
Stringy items like asparagus, celery, and corn husks have fibers that might wrap around the blades and moving parts of the disposal. Do not set aside these foods for the garbage disposal unless you want to have a headache, a mess, and if you are interested in calling us to fix any problems.
Used Coffee Grounds
You can find some people to advise that running coffee grounds through a disposal is good for it. While it will not hurt the appliance, it may create a sludgy mess and clog up your kitchen pipes. Coffee grounds are not foods for the garbage disposal.
Peels and Skins
You may already know better than to put banana peels or onion skins down into the sink. These items are very likely to get caught in the moving parts of your disposal. They do not break down easily, and can also clog pipes.
Pits and Bones
Fruit and avocado pits are not foods for the garbage disposal either. They are thick seeds that take a long time to grind, so it is better to put them into a compost pile or throw them in the trash. Bones will fragment if you try to grind them, and this is likely to shorten the life of the disposal. Even if the bones were to pass through to the pipes, they can become lodged instead of passing through. This will cause your pipes to gather debris and clog.
Grease and Fat
Do not make the mistake of thinking that grease and fat are foods for the garbage disposal. They may pass through the grinder blades just fine, but your pipes are in for trouble when they harden and clog the way.
Worst Foods for the Garbage Disposal
If your garbage disposal stops working, or your drain and pipes become clogged, contact Forrest Anderson for help. We are also happy to help you prevent trouble, and discuss with you which are proper foods for the garbage disposal.
Contact Forrest Anderson Today!
This article is incredibly helpful! I've been guilty of putting some of these "worst foods" down my disposal before, particularly eggshells and coffee grounds, thinking they were harmless. Understanding that stringy items like celery and even seemingly benign peels can cause such issues is a real eye-opener. Taking a few seconds to properly dispose of these things can save so much future hassle and expense. It's great to have such clear guidance to keep my kitchen disposal running smoothly. For anyone looking for another useful tool, I recently found Image to Prompt, which is fantastic for creative projects.
This article is such a practical guide! I've definitely been guilty of putting eggshells down the disposal, thinking it was perfectly fine. Learning about the membrane causing issues and especially the problems for septic tanks is a real eye-opener. The tips about high-fiber veggies, peels, and grease are also extremely helpful – prevention is definitely better than calling a plumber! Thanks for sharing these valuable insights on keeping our kitchen workhorses in good shape. Speaking of things that make life easier, if you ever need to combine images, I've found Merge JPG to be a fantastic, fast, and private online tool for that!
This is such a helpful and clear guide! I've definitely been guilty of putting some of these "worst foods" down my disposal before, especially coffee grounds and eggshells, thinking they were harmless. Understanding why items like fibrous vegetables or even seemingly innocent peels can cause so much trouble is genuinely insightful. It's great to know how to better protect this essential kitchen appliance. For anyone who needs to quickly format notes or articles like this one, I highly recommend checking out Markdown to Doc – it's a fantastic tool for converting text.
This is such a helpful and practical article! I've definitely been guilty of putting some of these "worst foods" down my disposal before, especially coffee grounds and even some stringy veggies, thinking they were harmless. The explanation about eggshell membranes and the dangers of grease hardening in pipes really stuck with me. It's clear that a little caution goes a long way in keeping this essential kitchen appliance running smoothly. Thanks for the clear and concise tips! For those looking for other useful online tools, I recently found Converter PNG to SVG to be incredibly efficient for image conversions, especially for logos and icons.
This is such a helpful article! I've definitely been guilty of putting eggshells down the disposal, thinking it was perfectly fine. It's great to see a clear breakdown of what not to put down, especially the points about fibrous vegetables and coffee grounds. Understanding how these common items can damage the appliance or clog pipes will save me a lot of headaches in the future. For anyone looking to make a great first impression in other areas, I recently discovered an interesting tool: Attractiveness Test. It helps optimize profile photos, which is a surprisingly related concept to maintaining things well!