Foods to Avoid With Your Garbage Disposal

Your garbage disposal is an amazing kitchen appliance. It is relatively inexpensive and, when properly utilized, can last anywhere from 10-15 years. It helps cut down on food waste that would likely cause odors in your garbage can. Though called a garbage disposal, this doesn’t mean that all of your food garbage can be put through your grinder blades. It is important to understand the foods to avoid, so that you can avoid dealing with clogged drains and pipes that can worsen in time.

What to Avoid

When properly used, your garbage disposal does a great job at eliminating food waste. It is best designed to handle light food scraps from an array of certain foods. It is important to understand what foods should be avoided in general. This list includes:

• Starchy Foods €“ Starch likes to cling. In time, this can dull the blades of your garbage disposal or cause a build-up within your pipes. You should avoid using your disposal for food such as pasta, rice, and beans.
• Fibrous Foods €“ These foods also like to cling, leading to potential food buildup within your pipes. You should avoid food items such as banana peels, celery, carrots, and potato peels
• Fats €“ Fats like to congeal€”a top leader in reasons why a plumber will end up coming to your home. When enough fat congeals, it can completely block a pipe. Fats include substances such as cooking oil, grease, butter, and over heavy creams
• Hard Materials €“ Unlike horror movies where a disposal blade can do massive damage, the blades in reality are rather dull. Hard material can quickly lower the lifespan of your blades. You should avoid bones, seafood shells, and egg shells so as not to form a collection of granular waste and clog your drain or dull your blades.

Caring for Your Garbage Disposal

Avoiding certain foods and materials can help improve the life of your garbage disposal. Certain foods can not only impact the disposal yourself but also your plumbing. If you are concerned about the types of food your disposal has interacted with, turning to an expert can help you assess the quality of your grinder as well as the current condition of your pipes. At Clearwater Plumbers, our experienced staff can help make sure that everything in your home is in working order.