What You Shouldn’t Be Putting Into Your Garbage Disposal

Some Items Just Don’t Belong Down There

It can be confusing to know what you can and can’t put into the garbage disposal. We are here to provide you with information to make sure you’re grinding food safely in your disposal to avoid garbage disposal repair or in some cases even a new garbage disposal installation.

Covid-19 is causing unexpected results in quite a few kitchens across the globe.

Most people are spending much more time at home and it is putting extra strain on their garbage disposal system. Brookfield, Illinois Plumbers, The Suburban Plumbing Experts are getting more and more calls on a daily basis about broken garbage disposals and have had their most garbage disposal repair calls to date!

Some of the items NOT to be throwing down the disposal shoot and that cause higher repair bills: bones, coffee grounds, carrots, potatoes, grease, oils.  You do not want to jam the garbage disposal full of items either, rather a gradual amount of food particles at a time while your warm or hot water running is best.

Other items our plumbers find and definitely should not be going into your garbage disposal include:  bread, nuts and their shells, large amounts of eggshells, pasta (cooked and raw), artichokes, celery, corn husks, and the shells from seafood (shrimp, clams and oysters). There have also been reports of finding broken glass in a disposal, which is a big no-no!

To assess the disposals grinding performance our plumbers can measure equal amounts of bones and vegetable pieces to run through each garbage disposal cycle.

The less fortunate garbage disposals leave larger scraps that could potentially block your drain. Our plumbers test for any noise, measuring the decibel output while the disposal unit grinds a mix of bones and vegetables. In the end our plumbers find the quieter models are heavier due to more insulation and run better overall.

We would all like to think that our garbage disposal system can handle everything you throw in it, but physics just doesn’t work that way. Just because an item is not included above does not mean you can assume it is safe to put into the disposal unit. Read your garbage disposals operator’s manual and always use common sense.

Does your garbage disposal smell?

It might be because you are putting raw or leftover and unfinished meat into it. You should never put meat into a garbage disposal because it can stick to the inside of the disposal, start to rot and in turn, cause a stench in your kitchen sink. Always throw meat remnants in the trash. Bones, with the exception of those from most fish, should also stay out of the garbage disposal. Your unit isn’t strong enough to grind them up, no matter how powerful of a machine it is. The same holds true for the shells of shrimp, lobster, oysters and other seafood, as well as the seeds of fruits like peaches or mangoes. Apple cores are also a too much for most garbage disposers to handle.

Of course, you should also be careful to never put any non-food items down into your garbage disposal. Check it for errant cutlery before grinding anything up. Avoid stuffing paper towels, candy wrappers, egg cartons, cardboard or other non-food items into the garbage disposal. You should also avoid pouring any paint down the  garbage disposal and take it easy on the cleaning chemicals. You don’t need anything stronger than dish soap or, at the very most, a cleanser specifically formulated for use in garbage disposals.

Here’s a quick remedy you can try using simple household items to remove any odors coming from your kitchen drain area. First, turn on your garbage disposal unit. Second, pour a cup of dry baking soda down the hatch. Third, flush the baking soda with a cup of distilled white vinegar. This should go a long way toward cleaning your disposal of any foul smells!