Your garbage disposal is likely one of the most used pieces of equipment in your kitchen. It’s also likely that it withstands a lot of stress, as many homeowners believe garbage disposal can digest anything you throw in them. Unfortunately, there are many foods and food byproducts that can have damaging effects on your system. Here’s a quick look at three of the most common culprits:
- Starchy Foods
The gumminess of pasta, rice, potatoes, leftover hot cereal, and other foods with a high starch content can stick to the walls of the disposal. This will create a blockage that prevents water from going down the drain correctly.
What’s the solution? Try your hardest not to put these things down the drain. If you do, do so in small amounts. Run the water for a few seconds longer after the disposal is finished, just to ensure that the water pushes the sticky food waste through the drain pipes. - Coffee Grounds
While coffee grounds look like they might go down the drain without any issues, the contact they have with water creates a sediment buildup in your pipes. This is very similar to the sediment buildup from minerals that occur in your water heater.
What’s the solution? Allow recently used coffee grounds to dry out first. If you’ve got a compost heap, throw the dry grounds into the heap. If you don’t have a compost heap, throw it into the garbage. - Stringy and Membranous Foods
Foods with membranes or a stringy quality can very easily get wrapped around the motor in your garbage disposal causing it to jam and freeze. Examples of these include celery, artichoke leaves, onion skins, eggshells, and potato peels.
What’s the solution? The best way to avoid freezing up your garbage disposal motor is never putting these foods down the disposal. Period.
If any of these foods find their way down your pipes creating plumbing issues, give us a call us at 770-777-1111 for assistance with clogged drains or any plumbing problem!
