We frequently receive service calls for clogged kitchen sinks. While many of these clogs definitely needed professional intervention, the truth is that many were also avoidable. Because here’s a little secret: Even though those handy little appliances in your sink drain are called “garbage disposals,” they shouldn’t necessarily be used as a disposal for all your food garbage.
Garbage disposals are great for keeping your drain clear and grinding up all the little leftover bits of food that wind up in your sink after rinsing or cleaning dishes. But they shouldn’t be used as the primary means of disposal for all your leftover food, potato peels, and produce rinds. Here are the top foods that should be kept out of your garbage disposal:
Hard foods like fruit pits or meat bones. These can bend, break, or dull the blade on your garbage disposal.
Stringy foods like celery, artichoke leaves, and asparagus. These can wrap around the blades and burn out the motor.
Starchy foods like pasta and potatoes. These absorb water and can turn into a sticky paste that will clog your drain.
Fats and grease from cooking. These fats build up over time and will eventually turn into a nasty, expensive clog.
Coffee grounds. These little guys stick to everything. They’ll stick to the sides of your pipes (and the gunk that’s built up there) and cause a clog.
Large pieces of citrus fruits. You may have heard you should toss a lemon into your garbage disposal to clean it and freshen it up. But if you stick a huge piece of fruit down there and it jams up the blade it may burn out the motor.
You don’t have to fish every last bit of food out of your sink to avoid a clog. After all, garbage disposals were made to do that job and they make our lives immeasurably easier. But don’t rely on them to be your primary mode of food waste disposal, because that’s using them for a job for which they were never intended. Scrape your plates into a bowl or bin that gets tossed into your compost container, collect your cooking grease into an old can that gets tossed once it’s full, and avoid putting huge volumes of food down your garbage disposal to keep it functioning for years to come.
Since 1954, Day & Nite Plumbing & Heating, a family owned and operated company, has been meeting the plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning needs of homeowners and businesses in Seattle and the surrounding areas. Whether you have a plumbing emergency, or you need a heating and cooling home comfort system, “Do it Right! Call them anytime “Day or Nite”. Be sure to browse here for in-depth answers to homeowner’s top plumbing and heating questions, or send your own questions directly to the experts.
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