A kitchen garbage disposal is a wonderful convenience, making post-dinner cleanup incredibly fast. However, many homeowners treat their disposal like a blender or a magic black hole where anything can disappear.
Your disposal is designed to handle light food scraps. When you abuse it, the blades jam, the motor burns out, or the debris passes through only to clog your kitchen sink drain deep within the wall.
Here are 5 things you should never put down your garbage disposal.
1. Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG)
This is the number one cause of kitchen sink clogs. When bacon grease or cooking oil goes down the drain, it is in a liquid state. But once it hits the cold pipes beneath your home, it solidifies into a thick, sticky paste. This paste catches every other scrap of food that passes by, eventually forming an impenetrable blockage.
2. Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds look small and harmless, but when they get wet, they clump together into a dense, muddy paste. If you put enough coffee grounds down the drain, they will settle in the P-trap and create a solid plug.
3. Fibrous Vegetables
Celery, asparagus, corn husks, and onion skins contain long, stringy fibers. Instead of being ground up, these fibers wrap themselves tightly around the disposal's grinding impeller. Once the blades are tangled, the motor will lock up and overheat.
4. Eggshells
There is a common myth that eggshells sharpen disposal blades. This is false. Disposals don't even have sharp blades—they use blunt impellers to pulverize food. The membrane on the inside of the eggshell can wrap around the impellers, while the sand-like shell fragments settle in the pipes and cause clogs.
5. Expandable Foods (Pasta and Rice)
Pasta, rice, and oats expand when exposed to water. Even after they pass through the disposal, they continue to soak up water in your pipes, swelling until they completely block the line.
Need a Fix?
If your disposal is humming but not spinning, or if your kitchen sink is completely backed up, we can help. Check out our Garbage Disposal Repair services, or navigate to our Home Page to request an appointment.