# Is it good to put egg shells into the garbarge disposal?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 30, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260 "2009-03-30T04:52:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/1 "2009-03-30T04:52:32Z")
I heard someone say this some time–that somehow they help sharpen the blades or something. It doesn’t seem likely to me.
Well, you can’t compost them, so what’s the best way to throw them out?
---
### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/2 "2009-03-30T05:06:52Z")
Actually, you can compost them. The calcium is very good for the soil.
---
### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/3 "2009-03-30T05:25:11Z")
The plumber who fixed our garbage disposal said never to put eggshells in them. For what that’s worth.
---
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/4 "2009-03-30T05:28:42Z")
Second person here composting eggshells. Been working nicely for me.
---
### Author:  [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GSV_Consolation_of_Dreams)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/5 "2009-03-30T10:33:15Z")
If you know someone who keeps chickens, you could save the shells to be reused in their chicken-feed. Lots of people here keep chickens and collect shells from their neighbours for just this purpose.
---
### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/6 "2009-03-30T13:08:10Z")
Think of all the calcium chunks settling in your plumbing just after the disposal. Don’t put them down the disposal unless you wish to be cleaning out the trap or sewer line later.
---
### Author:  [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/7 "2009-03-30T22:40:42Z")
The last time I had to clean out a kitchen sink trap, the majority of what I found was eggshell. So I try not to put them down the drain because I think they’re more likely to get stuck than other things.
---
### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/8 "2009-03-30T22:47:56Z")
Wow! I was just talking to my husband about this the other day. I too had heard that you should regularly put eggshells through the disposal, though I thought it had something to do with cleaning the blades rather than sharpening. Compost it is, then.
---
### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/9 "2009-03-30T22:50:49Z")
> [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](#):
>
> If you know someone who keeps chickens, you could save the shells to be reused in their chicken-feed. Lots of people here keep chickens and collect shells from their neighbours for just this purpose.
Could that potentially spread disease like BSE and cow remains used as feed?
---
### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/10 "2009-03-30T22:58:06Z")
My brother the plumber has no problem with eggshells in the disposal. Of course he equipped me with a very powerful garbage disposal with a stainless steel interior. And he warned me to make sure that I ran enough water through to wash the ground material away.
---
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/11 "2009-03-30T23:53:07Z")
> [@Reply](#):
>
> Could that potentially spread disease like BSE and cow remains used as feed?
Birds have been eating other birds’ eggs, including the shells, for tens of millions of years. It doesn’t seem to have happened yet. I usually rinse out and microwave any eggshells I give to my parrots to avoid possibly passing something from the eggs to my pets, but what I toss on the compost I just rinse and let nature’s little garbagecritters take care of it.
---
### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/12 "2009-03-31T15:52:42Z")
> [@gaffa](#):
>
> My brother the plumber has no problem with eggshells in the disposal. Of course he equipped me with a very powerful garbage disposal with a stainless steel interior. And he warned me to make sure that I ran enough water through to wash the ground material away.
This last thing is the important part. If you don’t run enough water, even soap will accumulate and clog up pipes. I let the water run for at least thirty seconds after I use the disposal and have never had problems with the pipes. (To not waste water, what I really do is run the disposal at the beginning of cleaning things rather than at the end.)
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/13 "2009-03-31T16:06:25Z")
also, in my experience, it’s not a good thing to put egg shells in by themselves, because if it’s nothing but egg shells, they tend to clog the trap (speaking from personal experience last Valentine’s Day - sort of ruined the mood when I spent half an hour grubbing under the sink with dirty water splashing out of the trap as I unclogged the bits of ground up egg shells…)
But I’ve not noticed a problem when putting them down with vegetable bits. I think it’s jsut that by themselves, ground up eggshells tend to be a bit too hard and are heavier than vegetabel bits, so they don’t float in the water in the pipes as well as ground up bits of vegetable - tend to sink to the bottom of the trap. Mixing them up seems to work.
Oh, and ditto running lots of water.
---
### Author:  [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/14 "2009-03-31T16:18:40Z")
I’ve lived in my current aprtment for close to four years now. I’ve put eggshells in my disposal 3 to 4 times a week since I’ve been here and have experienced no problem. I too let the water run after I put the shells in though. That might be the reason why.
---
### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/15 "2009-03-31T16:25:01Z")
If you do compost egg shells, crush them up first, otherwise they just come out whole in the compost.
---
### Author:  [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/16 "2009-03-31T16:51:44Z")
Just a note: you don’t need to “sharpen” the teeth of a garbage disposal, because they don’t work because of sharpness. Rather, they work by bludgeoning the food against the side of the disposal, pulling it apart, etc. They don’t need to be sharp, and, indeed, newly made, are not all that sharp.
---
### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/17 "2009-03-31T18:11:22Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#):
>
> Just a note: you don’t need to “sharpen” the teeth of a garbage disposal, because they don’t work because of sharpness. Rather, they work by bludgeoning the food against the side of the disposal, pulling it apart, etc. They don’t need to be sharp, and, indeed, newly made, are not all that sharp.
Well that much I knew pretty well. What I didn’t know–and what many people seem to think–is that you can’t compost them.
---
### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/18 "2009-03-31T18:19:40Z")
Does anybody have a list of things to NOT put in a disposal (without the obvious silverware) as well as things to run through to clean them and get rid of odors? (I have always heard to use ice cubes)
---
### Author:  [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/19 "2009-03-31T18:28:09Z")
> [@Hampshire](#):
>
> Does anybody have a list of things to NOT put in a disposal (without the obvious silverware) as well as things to run through to clean them and get rid of odors? (I have always heard to use ice cubes)
As a general rule, avoid anything hard and/or fibrous. I’ve been told that anything you can chew is safe. Metal, bone, wood and hard stems (like a pumpkin’s) are definitely out. Some types of peels or rinds seem to cause problems in some systems more than others, maybe depending on horsepower.
This goes for all sinks and not just garbage disposals, but never put liquid fats down the drain, like the drippings from a roast or melted butter. Not only does it stand a good chance of solidifying in the trap, but some cities have so much problem cleaning it out of the sewers that they’ve banned garbage disposals altogether.
I’ve never had any problems with odors and just make sure to run it a little longer than needed and to run hot water for a little while after I finish. Ice cubes and lemon peel are supposed to be a good natural/cheap way to clean and deodorize.
---
### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260/20 "2009-03-31T19:08:15Z")
No list but experience that banana peels do not go down well.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-good-to-put-egg-shells-into-the-garbarge-disposal/491260.md?page=2)