Foods that Can and Can’t Go Down Your Garbage Disposal
Your garbage disposal is a powerful tool to make kitchen cleanup easy and keep food waste out of landfills. But you shouldn’t treat it like a garbage can. While it can handle most food you throw at it, there are certain kinds of waste you should avoid putting down your garbage disposal.
Foods You Shouldn’t Put Down Your Disposal
Fats, oils, and grease: Known as FOGs in the industry, this type of food waste may seem harmless, but it’s one of the leading causes of clogs in plumbing and sewers. FOGs often start as liquids, but they will usually congeal and stick to the insides of your pipes, causing stubborn clogs. Common FOGs include cooking oil, butter, peanut butter, bacon grease, salad dressing, mayonnaise, and ice cream.
Fibrous vegetables and fruit peels: Thin and/or stringy foods such as celery and fruit peels often slip through garbage disposals without being ground up properly. This can cause clogs further down your pipes. Particularly stringy foods can also wrap around your disposal’s impellers, causing jams or even motor burnout. Common foods in this category include celery stalks, asparagus, corn husks, onion skins, artichoke leaves, and fruit and vegetable peels.
Starchy foods: These foods absorb water and expand, turning into a thick paste that can clog your drain and hinder your disposal. Small amounts are okay, but you should avoid dumping large quantities down the drain. Examples include pasta, rice, potato peels, bread, and oatmeal.
Hard foods: Most garbage disposals can safely grind up hard foods, including small bones. But even smaller chunks of those foods can cause clogs further down your plumbing, especially if your pipes are older. That’s why we generally recommend against putting them down your disposal. Foods in this category include bones, fruit pits, seafood shells, coffee grounds, and eggshells.
Foods You Should Put Down Your Disposal
Your disposal can handle most foods not mentioned above. Generally, small amounts of soft food waste are safe to put down your disposal. Examples include cooked meat and fruit and vegetable scraps. Citrus rinds are also safe, and they can help freshen up your disposal and combat foul odors! You can also put ice cubes down your disposal to help clean the system and dislodge debris. Always remember to wash waste down a bit at a time rather than dumping large quantities down your drain, which can lead to clogs.
Robillard Plumbing Can Help
Do you have a clog in your garbage disposal or elsewhere in your plumbing? We can help. We use the latest tools and technology to clean your drain and free your pipes of pesky clogs. Located in Maple Grove, MN, we serve the entire northwest Twin Cities metro area.
