Seven Prohibited Items to Avoid Grinding in Your Garbage Disposal
Rewritten Article:
Hey there! Let's talk about the cooking buddy in your kitchen - the trusty garbage disposal. While it's speedy and tough, it ain't a catch-all for every bit of waste you chuck its way. You might be surprised, but your beloved garbage disposal isn't absolutely fantastic at handling, well, garbage tout court.
"Garbage disposals are fantastic kitchen helpers for managing leftover food scraps," shares Palla, the whiz behind Mr. Handyman, a division of Neighborly. "But remember, there are a few items you shouldn't be tossing down there to dodge potential mishaps and blockages."
You know that nasty stuff you see when grease, fat, or cooking oil cools off? Yup, that same gunk will solidify in your pipes if poured down the drain. "Fats can transform into a pipe-clogging, gooey mess over time," explains Palla.
Bones, whether big or small, don't stand a chance against a garbage disposal. "Disposals aren't designed to handle hard objects like bones," Palla adds.
When it comes to vegetable peelings, experts like Wilson, owner of Mike Wilson Plumbing in Richmond, Virginia, advise tossing 'em straight into the trash can. Vegetable peels, particularly potatoes, can result in a messy clog further down the drain line as they stick together over time.
Take a gander at those long, stringy vegetables like celery, onions, or artichokes with fibrous strands. These pesky fellows have a tendency to wrap themselves around a disposal's blades, leading to jams and headaches down the line.
Fruit pits and seeds, the hard cores of our faves like avocados and peaches, can't be ground up properly by your disposal. They can do some damage, so best to compost them or discard them responsibly instead of shoving them down the drain.
What about shellfish shells? Oops, sorry, they're wrong for the garbage disposal too. As you might've guessed, shells from crabs, shrimp, and other shellfish are quite hard, and they'll cause problems for your disposal.
Wilson reminds us to pay heed to flushable cat litter and old paint, two common culprits behind stopped-up drains. So remember, non-food items like plastic, metal, and glass (or anything chunky) simply aren't meant to be flushed down there.
Lastly, it's important to avoid putting harsh chemicals, detergents, or paper down your garbage disposal, as these nasties can hurt the appliance and ruin its performance in the long run.
For items you can safely chuck down your garbage disposal, check out our follow-up article!
- The kitchen assistant, the garbage disposal, isn't designed to manage all types of waste, especially fats that can solidify and cause blockages over time.
- Despite being a useful kitchen helper for food scraps, items like bones, vegetable peels, especially potatoes, stringy vegetables, fruit pits and seeds, shellfish shells, flushable cat litter, old paint, plastic, metal, and glass should not be disposed of through the garbage disposal.
- When it comes to avocados, the hard cores of their pits cannot be ground up properly by the disposal and should be composted or disposed of responsibly.
- Harmful chemicals, detergents, or paper should also be avoided being put down the garbage disposal as they can negatively impact the appliance's performance in the long run.
