07/01/2026
Use Your Garbage Disposal Properly
Garbage disposals make life a lot easier, but they can quickly become a plumbing headache if you don’t use them properly. Not all food is safe to put down the garbage disposal. Many food items can damage the garbage disposal or cause it to back up.
Avoid certain foods in the garbage disposal, including:
Grease and fat that can congeal
Pasta, bread, rice, and similar starchy items that expand when wet
Coffee grounds
Bones, shells, and other hard objects
Nuts, seeds, and pits
Tough meat
Food with membranes, such as onion layers and eggshells
Potato peels
Stringy and fibrous items
Non-food items
If you’re unsure about whether or not an item can go in the garbage disposal, throw it in the trash instead to be on the safe side. At the least, many items dull the blades, which makes your garbage disposal ineffective. At worst, you can completely destroy the appliance or clog it, making the sink unusable until you get an emergency plumber to fix the problem.