9 Most Common Garbage Disposal Killers
garbage disposal
The Rosun garbage disposal is certainly practical for eliminating an assortment of food scraps and waste that can create unpleasant odors in your kitchen. It can often make clean-up after dinner much easier. But if you’re not careful with what you put in your Rosun garbage disposal, you could end up damaging it.
Here are the nine most common disastrous items that end up in the disposal (including some common foods!) and ways to protect your appliance and plumbing.
Most Common Garbage Disposal Killers
These nine items are some of the most common things that go down the drain but can do real damage to your garbage disposal.
1. Vegetable Peels and Fruit Skins
Relegate your vegetable peels and fruit skins to the garbage. The peels and skins from vegetables and fruits, such as potatoes, onions, mangoes, and apples, can get caught around the disposer blades. When this happens, it prevents the disposer from working properly.
If you must dispose of these items in your disposal, it is advisable to do it in small quantities and ensure that you run cold water while doing it.
2. Pasta and Rice
It’s easy to drop some pasta or rice into the sink while cooking, and the simple answer may be just to push it into the garbage disposal. But these items can stick to the pipes and the blades, which can clog the sink. Even small amounts can back up your plumbing.
3. Celery Stalks or Stringy Vegetables
Celery is rubbery and can generate the same effect as potato or apple skins. Spinach, a stringy vegetable, can also cause serious congestion inside your sink.
4. Bones or Shellfish Shells
Bones and shells can dull and break your garbage disposal’s blades. These hard materials can jam the disposal, thwarting the blades from functioning properly and eventually exhausting the motor.
5. Fruit Seeds and Pits
Big and hard seeds and pits from nectarines, cherries, peaches, and durians can create similar effects as bones. They can blunt the blades or completely stop your garbage disposal from working.
6. Fats, Grease, or Greasy Foods
Fats and greasy foods will dispense a film around the blades, reducing their effectiveness. Ultimately, the grease will start to putrefy, causing horrid smells in your kitchen. Aside from the smell, grease can also result in clogged pipes and drains when it hardens.
Got kitchen smells?
Stop them now!
7. Egg Shells
Egg shells have no place in the disposer. Some people claim they sharpen the blades, but this is untrue. Egg shells have a stringy membrane layer that can wrap around the unit’s shredder ring. When the shells are ground to consistency akin to sand, they can eventually clog up your pipes.
8. Tea Leaves
This item can cause the same effect as rice and pasta. Dump your loose leaf tea in the garbage to avoid a backed-up kitchen sink.
9. Non-Food Items
You should always avoid disposing of non-food items in the garbage disposal. Some non-food items that frequently go down the drain include:
Cigarette butts
Rubber bands
Sponges
Pull tabs
Twist ties
Spoons
Plant clippings
Fabric
Your garbage disposal will be unable to break these down, and they’ll be washed down the drain. This can result in serious and costly damage to your plumbing.
If you have a non-food item stuck in your Rosun garbage disposal, don’t try to get it out without unplugging your appliance. You may want to call a professional for assistance.
Send Email
service@rosun.com