Garbage Disposal 101: What Not to Put in Your Garbage Disposal


It is possible to live without a garbage disposal. Manually disposing your food waste is an alternative, such as by throwing it in the garbage. However, that can be a chore. It’s much more convenient to dispose of your food waste in the same room in which you clean your dishes and cook your food.
If you don’t want this convenience to ruin your house’s pipes, then you need a garbage disposal. These appliances grind your food waste into small bits that can’t clog your pipes. However, your garbage disposal can’t dispose of all your food waste.
1. Bones
As a general rule, putting bones in your garbage disposal is not a good idea. A garbage disposal’s blades are designed to grind softer items. However, there is an exception to this general rule. A garbage disposal can still grind smaller bones, like those in fish.
2. Pasta and Rice
Your garbage disposal can grind pasta and rice, generally without any negative consequences to your disposal’s blades. However, both pasta and rice tend to expand when they come into contact with water. Consequently, throwing waste rice or pasta down the drain is not a good idea. After expanding, they’ll eventually clog your drain, creating even more problems.
3. Stone Fruits
Stone fruits are fruits that have a stone or fruit pit in them, such as cherries or peaches. These are extremely hard objects and your garbage disposal’s blades aren’t likely to grind them. It’s better to just chuck these in the trash.
4. Garbage
Despite its deceptive name, garbage disposals aren’t designed to dispose of all garbage; those
would be trash compactors. Consequently, don’t throw the things you normally throw into your garbage can, like paper towels and medicine boxes, into your garbage disposal. It’s a recipe for disaster.
5. Shells
This particularly refers to shells from seafood. Some smaller shells can pass through the garbage disposal, like shrimp shells, but will clog your pipes. Larger shells, like crab shells, will likely jam your disposal and not get down the drain. In general, seafood shells are very hard to grind down and could damage your disposal’s blades.
Plumbing issues related to garbage disposals are fairly common. It could be because its name suggests it’s designed to dispose of garbage. Alternatively, it could also be because people may mistake the strength of a disposal’s blades. For whatever reason, you can rest easy knowing what not to put in your garbage disposal to keep it running.

However, if you’ve already put some of these items into your disposal and it’s stopped working properly, don’t worry. Add this article to your future references for homeowner tips. For now, contact Your 1 Plumber to repair or replace your garbage disposal. They’re located in Germantown, MD, but offer plumbing services throughout Maryland and Northern Virginia. Moreover, they can also unclog and repair your drain if your food waste has clogged it. Call them now to address your plumbing needs.

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