Michigan Plumbers Say Do Not Put These Things Down The Garbage Disposal
If you want to keep your garbage disposal running, watch what you are putting in it.
A sound that I will never be able to un-hear is the sound of my Mom putting pork chop bones down the disposal. As a kid trying to yell over the sound of bones crunching in the sink, I remember saying "this can't be good for the disposal Mom". The crunching would continue as Mon would try and explain that pork bones were softer bones and therefore would not cause any damage. Well, now that just sounds crazy but it would explain why we always seemed to be replacing the disposal.
Fun fact time. The disposal was invented in 1927 by John Hammes who was from Wisconsin. and he called the appliance the SinkErator. It wasn't until after World War II that the, now renamed garbage disposal, was popping up in new suburban homes.
Here is a list of items that are a no-no for disposal.
Well, let's start off with bones. Nope, just don't. Bones do not sharpen the blades, that is a myth. Bones in the disposal will chip and break the blades.
Pasta and flour are food that is not garbage disposal friendly. When mixed with water will make a sticky mess.
Eggshells have no place in your disposal. Once the shells are ground up they tend to stick in your pipes causing a mess.
Coffee grounds, another garbage disposal no-no, they can clump up and clog drains.
If you have thought about composting, coffee grounds and eggshells would be perfect for that.
Fruit Pits and Nuts. both can break your disposal blades, and the nuts could end up like sticky peanut butter clogging your pipes.
Corn Husks and your disposal are not a good mix. The husks turn into a stringy mess and can really mess up the garbage disposal. Corn husks would be another great addition to a compost pile, so keep that in mind.
Corn husks would be another great addition to a compost pile, so keep that in mind.
One more thing that has no place in the disposal is a spoon. I am not sure how that keeps happening at my house, but it does, and like bones, a spoon grinding in the disposal is definitely not a good sound.