What Not To Put In The Garbage Disposal

Due to their solid and simple construction, garbage disposals are meant to last for years—but they can still have problems no matter how well they’re maintained. The best way to keep a garbage disposal in good shape is to be mindful when using it.

This is a common mistake among the area’s do-it-yourselfers. You should never pour oil or latex paints into household and commercial drains. Paint may cling to the sides of pipes and the disposal itself, curing, hardening, and creating a clog that’s nearly impossible to remove, even with garbage disposal repair. Clean brushes and rollers carefully and bring larger quantities of paint to your local hazardous waste center.

It’s a common home remedy for foul-smelling drains but pouring coffee grounds into the garbage disposal will cause more problems than it can ever solve. Though it may provide a short-term reduction in odor, it has long-term effects. Wet coffee grounds turn into a thick, dense paste, which can build up and eventually clog your drain. Instead, use it on your plants.

Shucking corn makes for a lot of waste, and it belongs the trash or compost bin, not the garbage disposal. Corn’s fine silk and thick, fibrous husks are quite damaging to these appliances. Husk it into a bag and dispose of it properly. Better yet, use them to make delicious tamales.

Dry pasta expands when it’s moistened. With that fact in mind, it’s easy to see why putting it down the garbage disposal isn’t a good idea. A few scraps here and there won’t cause any ill effects, but if you have substantial amounts, put them in your compost or in the trash. When using the disposal to get rid of pasta, run cold water for a few seconds afterward to flush everything out of the pipe and into the main sewer line.

Although garbage disposals do a great job of eliminating food waste, that doesn’t mean they can be used like a bench grinder. They’re just not made to handle hard items like bones. There’s no need to panic if the occasional fish bone gets in there, but don’t try to grind up anything bigger.

Like pasta, oats will expand when they’re wet. Uncooked oats are particularly risky, as they typically slip through the first part of the system only to create a clog further down the line. Avoid the hassle and expense of an oatmeal-related plumbing clog by putting leftover oats into the trash or compost.

Most garbage disposals can safely handle diced, chunky, or chopped onions. The papery skin and inner membrane, however, can create real problems. These layers are so thin that you may wash them down the drain unnoticed, but they can get caught in the line and trap other debris. Minimize the issue by putting onion skins and membranes in the trash or compost.

Peanut butter is made in a grinder—and that’s just what a garbage disposal is. Keep that thick and sticky paste out of your sewer lines and reduce the need for repairs by limiting the number of nuts that find their way in.

It is a myth, that eggshells sharpen a disposal’s blades. Garbage disposals don’t use blades like those found in a blender. Instead, they use impellers to push waste against a grinding ring. Because disposals have no blades, eggshells won’t work in this way. The thin membranes under the shells, however, may get caught in the impeller and wear away at the motor. Avoid the expense and hassle of garbage disposal repair by putting eggshells in the compost bin or the trash can. And if you’re a gardener, you probably already know what to do with eggshells!