Remember last month when I told you how I clean my garbage disposal? Well since them I’ve learn quite a bit about what your NOT suppose to put down the drain. Man, I hate it when I have to learn lessons the hard way!
- Grease or oil. Just because it is out of sight does not mean the garbage disposal “disposed” of it. Usually, it solidifies and begins to build up in your pipes. Not good.
- Vegetable peels. You might get away with it from time to time, but odds are, eventually this one will catch up with you–and leave you a soupy backfilled mess in your sink. Garbage disposals do not do too many peels–they’ll spit them up like an unhappy infant.
- Egg shells. Believe or not, the membrane on the inside of the egg can wrap around the blades and wreak havoc. Better just to compost them.
- Coffee Grounds. These actually seem like they go down fine, but over time, the little grounds build up like sediment in the pipes, causing all sorts of trouble.
- Pits or seeds. Think: peach pits, avocado pits, cherries, etc. I am sure this one goes without mentioning, but it will basically rattle around in there like a pinball of destruction.
- Bones. I know, again, duh.
- Anything in bulk. Feed your disposal small meals, let it grind it up, then add more.
- Garbage. Think: cigarette butts or paper. It is not really designed for those sort of things and will get testy.
- Rice and pasta. I did not know this. Basically, every time you turn the water on, the pasta and rice will continue to expand–even after your supposedly ground it up.
- Stringy veggies. Think: celery, corn husks, or even some types of lettuce. The stringy parts can wrap around the blades, causing resistance on the blades.
Who hasn’t flipped on their disposal to hear the grinding of a measuring spoon or a slippery little peach pit? {Not me, of course!} But, some of these {coffee and eggs}, I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to put down the disposal. I guess it’s a good thing I have a compost bin.
~Mavis
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Judy says
So what Can you put down the disposal?? Lol
Debbie says
That’s exactly what I was thinking! 🙂
Practical Parsimony says
I hate garbage disposals and have only had one when the house came with one. I think they stink to high heaven. I think kitchens in other people’s houses stink. When I had a kitchen installed, I refused to have a garbage disposal. However, I cannot imagine all those things hurting the function. Water plants must break down and clean all that goop that the garbage disposal sends into our drinking water. Nothing goes down my drain. I have those little baskets that are mesh in my sink in kitchen and bathroom and in the tub. You would be shocked what and how much gets caught in them for me to clean out.
Randall says
So basically you can’t put anything down them so why have one?
Chris says
+1 no kidding. The list of stuff to go down is probably smaller 🙂
david tomlins says
Its only the cheaper waste disposals that struggle with these things. A 2 stage waste disposal will grind most things & a 3 stage waste disposal should be able to grind any kitchen waste. But bear in mind a top of the range disposal will cost 500 pounds & even though its very strong still use comon sense only put really hard or tough things down in small amounts with lots of water drop ice cubes & lemon rinds down every other day & use baking soda & vinegar once a week to keep it nice & clean with no build up of grease or food
Mavis says
Interesting. I didn’t realize they had stages. I’m off to check what type we have!
david says
Of course! The cheaper it is the more weaker & basic design cheap ones are only for small flats or houses for just getting rid of the left overs on plates . But the biggest size of insinkerator is industrial strength for big families restaurants or people who just want a machine which wont break down & are easier to clean & unblock the shiny chrome & steel looks so much nicer than cheap plastic as well
Tina says
I know we own a restaurant and basically anything goes down the sink into the garbage disposal!!!!
Rae says
Chicken broth, LOL
David tomlins says
Lol exactly! These daft rules only apply to cheap weak disposals. Insinkerator evolution excel will grind up almost everything she says you can’t & without fear of blocking the pipes. Its much stronger than the cheap ones & grinds it up about 3 times smaller to the size of half a grain of rice! Obviously you should still avoid any fat oils or greasy foods, but anything else is safe to put down them
Dina says
I have had mine, the same one for 17 years and I put eggs shells, potato peels, coffee grinds (everyday) all the time. Have never had a problem. I never put celery, corn hulks, artichokes, or banana peels. I don’t put anything that can wrap around the blades. But, the other things mentioned, all the time.
Jessica Ward says
I was scolded by my plumber for putting lemon peels (in small quantities) in my disposal. He said it was one of the worst things I could do. 🙁
Susan says
This is a surprise one! I read somewhere to put lemon or orange peels in there to sanitize and get rid of smells. I do this occasionally.
Monica says
I read the same thing orange and lemon peels help to clean it and takes away the smell.
patti says
I used to put lemon peels down mine to make it smell nice. Eventually, they clogged at the juncture where the pipe went to the laundry room. Flooded my laundry room and ruined the floors. No more!!
David says
That’s so stupid even a cheap disposal could cope with a few citrush rinds he clearly don’t know what he’s talking about!
Michele says
If you follow that list then there’s nothing you can safely put in the disposal. I’ve been putting all of that down the pipes (minus the oil) for more than 30yrs. Never had a back up problem. You just do all that in moderation and flush the system thru occassionally.
Marti Jenkins says
I don’t think anyone really knows. I’ve always been told coffee grounds and small bones are good for the disposal. They help keep the blades sharp. Also, egg shells as long as you are not on a septic system (the lime kills the bacteria which break down food). I do know from experience not to put celery or other stringy foods down.
Jeff Carter says
We don’t have a garbage disposal inside the house – everything goes in the compost for the chickens. We do use an outdoor sink with a garbage disposal for processing apples and pears to make the mash to make apple cider on our home made cider press. The garbage disposal works great!
Patty says
I am with you. I had a bunch of potato skins back it up once but now I just put them down a bit at a time. I have got to get a decent compost thingy the dog can’t get in and won’t smell up the house!
Birgit says
I have one (came with the house) but I never use it or rather, I hate having one; a murky dangerous contraption to clean, with the ice cubes and the lemon peel and all, and the occasional spoon that fell into it by accident. In fact, I never knew these existed or what the hell you would use them for, since I grew up in Europe where they simply don’t exist (for fear they would mess up the water treatment plants I guess). Sorry no garbage disposal for me, thanks
Kathryn Muffley says
LOVE your use of a garbage disposer! I’m with you on putting the kitchen waste (not bones) in the compost pile. Learned from my mom. Back in the 50’s, the midwest had big trouble with dutch elm disease. Mom had been putting the kitchen waste at the base of an elm in the backyard. All the elms in the neighborhood died, except for that tree.
Jess says
I didn’t know the membrane in eggs is a problem. I still don’t put eggs down the disposal after touring a water sanitation plant and the manager said egg shells are horrible for the plant and he asked us to never put them down the disposal. I can’t remember the exact reason but it’s stuck with me.
Elise says
Our community started curbside composting about a year ago, maybe to years ago, and ever since I almost never use the disposal anymore! I LOVE being able to give my compostables to someone else to use since I just don’t have the time and spot for our own compost. We can then buy it back (it’s really cheap) 🙂
Donna says
Crap! With all the ice outside, I threw the coffee grounds down the disposal instead of composting them. Oops. Wish I wouldn’t have been so lazy now.
Anita says
I don’t have a garbage disposal because they scare me. Hence, #11–FINGERS! 😉
Ursula says
LOL I’m with you Anita!
My phobia is that they have a mind of their own and are just waiting for you to try and retreive that runaway spoon from it’s depths!
I even hired a plumber to REMOVE the one that was in the sink when we bought our house 🙂
All the unacceptable food items are added to my worm bin ( except the citrus)
Kim says
I was told by a guy who manufactured disposals that they are really only made to handle very small bits of food. It is really basically just for the small stuff you would normally rinse off dishes. I was really shocked to hear that.
Patty says
To me, that makes them pretty useless! lol
David says
Lol that’s the basic early onestages from the 50s the new expensive are much more stronger
Kim says
I learned a very expensive lesson on why you have to be very careful with rice and pasta. I impulsively threw a cup of raw rice down the disposal followed by some hot water. The water cooked the rice and the disposal just kept cutting it into little pieces, compounding the problem. It cost me $400 by the time the plumber was through. Now, rice and pasta must soak over night before it can be put down the disposal to ensure it will not further swell. Otherwise, straight to the trash.
Lisa says
I’ve used coffee grounds to clean the disposal for years based on some advice from a plumber. He said it gets in the little places and scrubs out bits of greasy leftovers after rinsing dinner plates. I’ve never had an issue.
leal says
I live i an apartment. I really don’t want to have to call the maintenance guy to fix the disposal. I will not put these things down the disposal any longer. Thanks for the information.
queen of string says
We had one when we bought this house, we never used it, but I would run it from time to time to stop it smelling. Then it stopped working and now it’s got worse and is now mostly blocked, so when we run the dish washer, it backs up into the sink bit of the waste disposal. Oh deep joy.
Patty says
That sounds very yucky and smelly. You can take them out and put in regular drain pipes.
Diana says
This list surprised me, as I’d been told that egg shells, coffee grounds and citrus peels are good for the disposal. Citrus peels do make the disposal and kitchen smell good, so I make a point to run those peels through by themselves. I compost all other fruit and vegetable peelings. But that is by choice, as peels are what a disposal is for, I was taught. But common sense says to use it in moderation. I.e., if you stuff the disposal full and try to force it all through the pipe, there will be problems for sure. The other items on this list, such as grease and garbage, make sense to keep out of the disposal.
My plumber said to always run cold water down the disposal; never hot. (To prevent starches from expanding.) And properly flushing with water is key to keeping the disposal and pipes clear.
Butterflyweed says
If you live in a home with an on site sewage or septic system you should never use a garbage disposal at all. The bits of food can clog up the holes in the drain pipe in the drain field. The, ahem, regular solids can be broken down by the enzymes in a properly functioning system. One also needs to be careful not to use too much bleach or bleach containing products as they can kill the enzymes needed to make the system work. And last but not least, don’t flush tampons or condoms either or you will be embarrassed when the guy comes to pump the tank, they will be floating on the top.
carol says
When we remodeled the kitchen, we had it wired for a disposal, but have never installed one. I just can’t see putting all that good compost down the drain! I put kitchen waste, including crumbled egg shells in my worm bin. Only bones and meat leavings go in the garbage.
Barbara says
I have used garbage disposals for nearly 50 years. There are good ones and bad ones. You get what you pay for, and my choice certainly does all veggie peels, egg shells, pasta, rice, citrus rinds (they make it smell especially nice) and the remnants of our dinner plates with ease. It does not have an unpleasant odor. It has none at all, actually, and I let the cold water run for about 20 seconds after grinding to flush the pipes. Nothing ever wraps around the blades, nor does it balk at anything I grind. I often make large amounts of food to freeze at a time and share with elderly neighbors, so I can throw away a lot of peels in a morning. It’s nothing for me to peel 5 pounds of potatoes, a couple of pounds of carrots, all of whose peels go to grinder heaven. None of them like onion peels, however, so I wrap those in a plastic garbage bag and put them in the trash. The key is to buy quality in the first place. Go for the heaviest duty motor, for starters, and not a puny one. I don’t do bones, or fruit pits, or coffee grounds, but I save the coffee grounds to acidify the soil for the plants that appreciate it. I am not allowed to have a compost pile in our retirement community because we live on the edge of a national forest and compost invites bears and other wildlife to feast on any food left outdoors, even if it is well covered with soil. We can’t smell it, but evidently they can! For the same reason, we cannot simply throw garbage in our trash containers without wrapping it securely in plastic so it can’t be detected by the animals. Waste water that becomes gray water from people’s use is used again on things like golf courses and city parks, so it really doesn’t go to waste at all.
Donna s says
jeez all that good food garbage that would be excellent compost. And going in the water table. Shame
Shawn says
I put as little as humanly possible down my disposal for the simple fact that eventually it builds up and will clog, then its either cleaning it out with a pipe-snake or worse, CHEMICALS! (BAD!). I use a wire mesh sink strainer to catch everything i can. The disposal is only for the pieces that seem to sneak past the strainer. I then feed my worm bin with the strainings (as long as it doesn’t contain meat or bad things for worms) otherwise it gets composted normally.
– Shawn
Jane Brown says
To unclog a disposal – use 1 cup baking soda and 3 cups of white vinegar. It works wonders.
Donna s says
Right on.
colleen pionk says
To my surprise I peeled potatoes put skins down the disposal Have city septic So of course backed up all over in basement I didnt know you can put anything down them Why have one in the first place Daughter was soooo upset with me after making that mistake.What are these disposals for? Thank You Now what do you use to clean the smelly thing?
Eric Schmidt says
Not only can you can actually put poultry bones down a garbage disposal, it actually keeps the abrasive surfaces on the side walls abrasive.
robyd73 says
What kind of disposals does everyone have that clog and smell? Just use common sense and you should never have any issues. this list is BS.
PattyB says
One thing to add to the list is flour. Throw that in the trash, along with any raw dough. Flour + Water = Glue.
Jon F. says
Does anyone know if it’s okay to put lime down the disposal? I stuck some (rather large) pieces down. Oops… maybe too much? When I turn the disposal on it sounds like it’s grinding it up and it creates a nice smell, but it doesn’t seem to clear. Suggestions? Thanks!