When they’re working properly, garbage disposals make cooking a breeze. With just the flick of a switch, food scraps that would rot in the trash simply disappear. But a broken garbage disposal is a major headache: spitting food, clogging, and making enough noise to wake a hibernating bear. Keep your disposal at the top of its game by tossing these 7 items into the garbage.
7 Things to Never Put in a Disposal
- Bones. Disposal blades aren’t powerful enough to tackle bones. They’ll wind up spinning, spinning, spinning . . . making future disposal use a major hassle.
- Celery, corn husks, and asparagus. Know those little fibers that stick between your teeth like floss? They’ll tangle in the disposal blades and be just as hard to remove as they are in your mouth.
- Fruit pits. Like bones, these suckers are too hard to grind in the disposal. Unlike bones, they’re also large enough to cause a major clog.
- Oil and grease. This slimy duo will likely clog your pipes before they ever get the chance to wreak havoc on your garbage disposal.
- Sponges. You might think it’s no big deal if a sponge slips down the disposal, but it will get tangled in the blades, making it impossible to grind food without some serious snipping to free the disposal.
- Coffee grounds. These tiny flecks of coffee beans disappear easily down the drain, but once they make it to the disposal, they coagulate into a sludgy mess.
- Pasta. These carbs may be a “cheat day” treat, but if you drop them down the drain, they’ll absorb water and swell, clogging the disposal trap.
Has food wreaked havoc on your garbage disposal? Ace of Gray has everything you need to get ahead of the mess. Visit our home improvement store for tips, supplies, and replacement garbage disposals.
