It’s always tempting just put things down the sink and into the garbage disposal. But there are some things you should truly avoid.
Garbage disposals are a really under-appreciated upgrade to the modern kitchen. It’s installed under your kitchen sink and is used to shred food waste into small pieces, so it can more easily pass through your pipes. They also help keep food waste out of landfills.
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Sending the wrong items down the drain and into the disposal blender can be damaging to your sink. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
We gathered some expert advice from John’s Plumbing and Pumps and the Family Handyman to help sort the dos and don’ts of the garbage disposal.
Here are things you CAN put down a garbage disposal
- Liquids, soft foods and chopped foods
- Ice (this can actually help clean the blades)
- Dish soap
That’s about it! If you look at enough expert opinions on this, some even say you should only put water down your garbage disposal.
Here are things you SHOULD NOT put down a garbage disposal
- Egg shells: The old adage about egg shells sharpening your blades is really unfounded. They don’t do any damage, but the shell membrane can make a mess.
- Coffee grounds: Grounds can help with sink odors, but that’s a short term positive. Long term, coffee grounds can form a blockage in your pipes (think about wet coffee grounds in your filter).
- Grease: It can solidify after cooling, messing up your pipe flows.
- Pastas and rice: It’ll soak up liquid and expand in your drain. You don’t want that. A little won’t hurt but a lot can be a problem.
- Bones: Very small bones, maybe. But chicken wing bones? Throw them away. Unless you have an industrial power disposal, which most residential homes do not.
- Nuts: Think peanut butter -- you don’t want that in your pipes.
- Onion skins: Chopped onion is no issue, but onion skin has a membrane layer that can get wedged in the drain.