Never Put These Four Things in Your Garbage Disposal

Picture this: you are about to have family and friends over for a big summer cookout. You’ve just prepared some food, and you turn on the sink to get started on dishes. The water keeps rising. Your drain is clogged! You turn on the garbage disposal, but you just hear a loud grinding noise. Now company is coming and you have a kitchen full of dirty dishes and a sink full of foul-smelling water. Yikes!It seems like everyone knows someone with a story about their garbage disposal breaking at the worst possible time, but how can incidents like this be prevented? You can keep your garbage disposal running like new by keeping these four things out of it.

1. Fibrous Foods

Foods with tough skins or fibers like carrots, celery, potatoes, and soybeans can seriously impede the function of the motor of your garbage disposal. Strings and fibers from tough vegetables can wrap around the blades, which keeps the blades from spinning and puts stress on the motor.

2. Hard Foods

Very hard foods like avocado pits, chicken bones, and ribs can do severe damage to your unit’s blades. Running these items through the garbage disposal can dull or break its blades, jam the disposal, or even break the motor. If you wouldn’t chew it, don’t expect your garbage disposal to break it down.

3. Grease

You have probably heard about all of the different ways you can supposedly pour grease down the sink without damaging your plumbing. In reality, grease is bad for your drains, period. Grease creates a film on the blades of your garbage disposal, which not only makes them less effective but also creates a foul odor when the grease starts to decay. Even if you pour hot grease down the drain with boiling water, it will solidify in your home’s pipes and potentially clog them.

4. Other Hazards

It’s the second-biggest household debate after which way to orient your toilet paper: do you put eggshells in the sink or the garbage? If you answered “garbage,” you probably have a healthier garbage disposal. Eggshells can clog drains, and the membranes on the inside can tangle up your garbage disposal’s blades. Many people say to use a handful of citrus peels to clean and deodorize your garbage disposal. Those people are wrong. Citrus peels will dull your garbage disposal’s blades. Rice and pasta should both be kept away from garbage disposals as well. When they expand in water, they can clog the garbage disposal’s trap.

Experience the Metcalf Plumbing Difference

Metcalf Plumbing is a customer-focused plumbing contractor serving residential and commercial clients throughout the Catonsville, Ellicott City and surrounding areas. From water heater installation, sump pump installation and repair to water and sewer line replacement, Metcalf Plumbing is a trusted resource to call on when you need help with your plumbing services. We are not commission-based and we provide honest, upfront costs with a thorough inspection of your system and suggested next steps. Our trained and courteous technicians are standing by to provide quality comfort at competitive prices. You can call us at 410-242-311 and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!