Some reading this bit of info can’t relate to a conversation about a garbage disposal, let alone a clogged one. Why you ask, well because they’ve never had one. Their leftover food items, food scraps or food prep waste are either put in the trash, composted or just thrown out to the animals. Those folks don’t know the joys of simply throwing the rough edges of lettuce of the beautiful salad that was just made down in the sink. They don’t know about putting the excess food left on the plates right down the drain, turning on the water and pressing a button or flipping a switch and having all that glorious waste obliterated and washed right down the drain.
Just as garbage disposals do so much good for so many they can become clogged, backed up and leave an awful mess. But why? The name garbage disposal can in itself be a bit misleading. A garbage disposal is not a dispose all. Not everything that a person classifies as garbage can be put in the disposal. Sure there are some high-powered models but let’s face it, we sometimes want to take the easy way out and dump it all down the drain, but even those super charged disposals aren’t meant to chew up everything and some things they can’t obliterate.
Take grease for example, that stuff can stick to the top of a stove for weeks no matter how many times it’s cleaned. So think of placing it in the drain, running water over it (we all know water and oil don’t mix) and thinking that the disposal will chew it up somehow and move it on through the pipes. It’s just not going to happen. It can leave a film on the blades and eventually an unappetizing odor emitting from the sink. If it does make it through the disposal it could end up sitting at the p-trap. Talk about a recipe for a mess. Another no-go is egg shells, which create a sand like substance that will eventually clog the line and the membranes can wrap around the shredder ring.Coffee grounds, fibrous foods, starchy foods, citrus & melon rinds, bones, corn husks, you get the picture. Oh and non-food items, really, just don’t.
So what can go down that piece of annihilating mastery sitting under your sink? Let’s go back to the remaining food scrapes left on the plate after that glorious meal. Scrap the biggest parts into the trash or the compost bowl and rinse the plate off. That’s what’s best to go in the disposal. Choosing to put so much more down the drain than what it’s intended for could be an expensive recipe for a mess that no one planned on making.
Contact Us Today for any Plumbing needs or questions.
