The garbage disposal is likely one of the most used (and abused) appliances in your house. While most foods are harmless to your garbage disposal and pipes, there are many hazardous foods that may surprise you.
Grease
Grease and oil can be potentially destructive to your drain and garbage disposal. These substances can clog up the disposal or piping due to congealed fats. Congealed grease and oil can even screw up the sewage system in your whole neighborhood.
Bones
Not putting bones down your disposal may seem like a no-brainer to most adults who understand the inner workings of pipes and sewage systems, but bones are a BAD idea and should be disposed of in a trash can. Your rib or chicken bones may not even break down after going through disposal, so why would they break down somewhere down the pipes? Answer: They won’t, chances are likely they will get stuck and cause a build up.
Celery, Asparagus, Corn Stalks
Vegetables may be healthy for you but not for your drains. To some, this may come as a surprise. Most vegetables are made up of fibrous, stringy materials that have been known to tangle around disposal blades, inhibiting their function.
Pasta, Rice
When cooking pasta and rice, the noodles and grains start out as small and dry but then expand when exposed to warm water. These foods can also become very sticky after cooking. Expanding and sticky substances are not ideal when you’re dealing with a system of pipes. Pasta and rice have been known to expand and clog the whole pipe operation.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grains seem like they’d go down the drain smoothly with no problem. However, just like putting dirt down your drain; coffee sediments build up into a sludgy, muddy mess that can cause major issues.
Fruit Pits
Fruit pits from plums, peaches, cherries, and avocados are hard and can be tough to cut through because of their makeup and size. A buildup of fruit pits and seeds could get wedged in the pipes
Potato Peels
Large quantities of potato peels can create a mashed potato mess in a garbage disposal. The starchy vegetables have just the right consistency to build up into a soupy mess when chopped up and exposed to water.
