# Things that can't go in the garbage disposal **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 6, 2007, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973 "2007-06-06T11:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/21 "2007-06-06T17:57:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] Pasta is a bad idea, too. When it hits the blades, it turns into glue, basically. I guess you could feed it down one spoonful at a time with lots of water chasing, but you can’t dump a whole bowl in at once. [/QUOTE] This is surprising to me, though maybe it shouldn’t be, because pasta is similar to cream of wheat in its composition and I know the latter can probably be used to mortar bricks, judging by the effort it takes to clean dried cream of wheat off a bowl. Garbage disposer folk wisdom I’ve heard is: don’t put eggshells down, because they will turn into cement (again, not too different in composition). ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/22 "2007-06-06T18:06:06Z")
Large quantities of potato peels tend to gum up the works. I usually peel the potatoes into the sink, but then scoop up the peels and put them into the garbage. Spoons also do not do well as disposal fodder. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/23 "2007-06-06T18:45:02Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] Do not put…artichoke leaves down a disposer. They will form a rope in the pipes. I learned the artichoke one the hard way. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I’ll never do that again, either. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![MacGyverInSeattle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@MacGyverInSeattle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacGyverInSeattle)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/24 "2007-06-06T19:56:28Z")
\ BWHAHAHA! I bought the disposer for the Macho male one and a half horse power of pure testosterone fueled stainless steel fury. I have put whole bags of potatoes (sprouted) and whole raw turkeys (child and freezer door incident ☹ ) down mine with no problems. It laughs at Artichokes and Lemons. BWHAHAHA! I shall grind up the whole world!! \ And it comes in designer colors! 😃 MacGyver ---
**Author:** ![DustyButt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@DustyButt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DustyButt)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/25 "2007-06-06T20:02:48Z")
I’ve seen a demonstration where a guy stuck an entire chicken into a garbage disposal and… GGRRIINNNDD! It was gone and down the drain in seconds. Depending on the disposal I don’t think there should be too many reasonable restrictions! ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/26 "2007-06-06T20:55:08Z")
Don’t put fat (melted or otherwise) with any form of lye. That’s how you get a big ol’ block of nasty, homemade, pipe shaped soap. Things that can go in my apartment’s disposal: 1. wet slices of bread 2. raw eggs, no shells 3. baby food, stage one only 4. melted milkshakes 5. the wings of captured fairies 6. milk, but only if it’s good. once it goes bad it gets too chunky. 7. cigarette smoke 8. cigar smoke - but only on Wednesday! only on Wednesday! 9. lemon juice 10. uncooked goat bones. Yeah, I can’t figure that one out either. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/27 "2007-06-07T02:37:28Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Garbage disposer folk wisdom I’ve heard is: don’t put eggshells down, because they will turn into cement (again, not too different in composition). [/QUOTE] Huh? Eggshells are not too different in composition from cement? IME, eggshells get completely pulverized. If things are clogging up your disposal, it’s most likely because you’re not letting it run long enough. You have to let the motor run until whatever has been put down it is _completely_ cleared, and let the water run as well. Let the water run for a few seconds after you turn off the disposal. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/28 "2007-06-07T02:59:35Z")
[QUOTE=MacGyverInSeattle] \ BWHAHAHA! I bought the disposer for the Macho male one and a half horse power of pure testosterone fueled stainless steel fury. I have put whole bags of potatoes (sprouted) and whole raw turkeys (child and freezer door incident ☹ ) down mine with no problems. It laughs at Artichokes and Lemons. BWHAHAHA! I shall grind up the whole world!! \ And it comes in designer colors! 😃 MacGyver [/QUOTE] You’re not on a private septic system, are you? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/29 "2007-06-07T03:51:53Z")
[QUOTE=MacGyverInSeattle] \ BWHAHAHA! I bought the disposer for the Macho male one and a half horse power of pure testosterone fueled stainless steel fury. I have put whole bags of potatoes (sprouted) and whole raw turkeys (child and freezer door incident ☹ ) down mine with no problems. It laughs at Artichokes and Lemons. BWHAHAHA! I shall grind up the whole world!! \ And it comes in designer colors! 😃 MacGyver [/QUOTE] So did I when I remodeled our kitchen. the artichoke incident was at my first apartment. with a cheap apartment disposer. My current disposer is top of the line, and worth every penny. BTW I checked out a few sites about what you can and can’t put in a disposer. [Home tips](http://hometips.com/content/disposal_intro.html) > [@](#): > > Garbage disposals work best if you: > > - Use cold water when grinding food (hot water can melt fats and clog the mechanism and the pipes) > > - Do not overfill > > - Do not pour bleach, drain cleaners, or other chemicals into the unit > > - Do not grind overly fibrous materials, **bones, or coffee grounds** (check the owners manual) or materials like glass, metal, or rubber > > - Run water before and after you use the disposal And from [InSinkErator](http://www.insinkerator.com/disposers/why.shtml) > [@](#): > > With an InSinkErator disposal in your kitchen, chicken bones, fruit rinds, coffee grounds and more can go right down the drain and into the garbage disposal – where they’re virtually liquefied to safely flow into your sewage system or septic tank. I think if you are having trouble with egg shells, pasta, or potato peels, you are probably not using enough water. You want lots of flow while you are grinding, and you need to let it run for several seconds after the disposer is done to make sure the waste is flushed all the way out of the pipes. **Mama Tiger** Don’t use hot water and grease in the drain. As the water runs down the pipes, it will cool off. When it gets cool enough the grease will solidify. Fifteen feet down the pipe from your kitchen. Trust me this is not a good thing. Use a grease can. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/30 "2007-06-07T04:36:18Z")
Just why? Why why why? What possible improvement is a disposal over just using the trash can like a normal human being? What a racket and waste of water and electricity. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/31 "2007-06-07T04:45:28Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Just why? Why why why? What possible improvement is a disposal over just using the trash can like a normal human being? What a racket and waste of water and electricity. [/QUOTE] Maybe for [enviromental reasons](http://www.insinkerator.com/environmental.shtml)😃 Yeah its from a disposer maker, but check the cites they list. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/32 "2007-06-07T04:56:28Z")
Also watch out for those little plastic things that you use to stick on the ends of corn on the cob. After the apartment manager fished it out, neither of us could identify it at first. Just a mangled blob of yellow plastic with wires sticking out of it. ---
**Author:** ![MacGyverInSeattle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@MacGyverInSeattle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacGyverInSeattle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/33 "2007-06-07T14:58:42Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] You’re not on a private septic system, are you? [/QUOTE] Nope, city sewer. And I run LOTS of water during and after. The dishwasher drains into the disposer, so I try to run big stuff while the dishwasher is draining, get double use from the water. ---
**Author:** ![AHoosierMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@AHoosierMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHoosierMama)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/34 "2007-06-07T15:19:25Z")
Don’t send cantelope rinds down it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/35 "2007-06-07T15:23:03Z")
No grease. Repeat: No grease. If you do have a grease clog, do not put lye drain operner in it. If you’ve ever seen a pipe with homemade soap in it, you will understand why. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/36 "2007-06-07T15:32:56Z")
Heh. I put bacon fat down the dsiposal once in a while. Yeah, I know I shouldn’t, and I own the place, so if I clog the pipes I’ve got no one to hand the problem off to. I run lots and lots of hot water down with the fat, though, and I don’t do it all that often. I never considered, though, that drain openers contain lye. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Ivorybill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ivorybill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ivorybill)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/37 "2007-06-07T15:47:09Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] I think if you are having trouble with egg shells, pasta, or potato peels, you are probably not using enough water. You want lots of flow while you are grinding, and you need to let it run for several seconds after the disposer is done to make sure the waste is flushed all the way out of the pipes. [/quote] Mama always runs the water for a few seconds before and for about 20 - 30 seconds after using the disposal. It’s a heavy-duty 1 hp unit and frankly a little scary to the uninitiated. The potato peel clog came about from her putting a large amount of peelings down the unit, albeit in small batches rather than one big grind, and the clog developed. Perhaps the old plumbing in their house - - possibly a smaller diameter drain line than is the current code or a funky connection - - is the culprit. Regardless, she’s done putting potato peelings down the disposal. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/38 "2007-06-07T18:14:02Z")
Pennies, bottlecaps, and an occasional hunk of some kind of plastic are the things I end up fishing out for customers. Otherwise, disposals tend to work nicely, provided you run lots of water before and after each waste cycle. If someone can provide the egg shell = cement chemical equation, I’m ready for some omelets and then go set fence posts. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/39 "2007-06-07T19:27:04Z")
What I end up fishing out from my residents’ disposals are usually non-food stuff, like coins, plastic, rocks, glass, etc. Sometimes bits of bone. As for food bits, all I really warn folks about are peels, rice, and vegetables (especially stringy types). Small doses at a time with lots of water and it should be fine. It’s when folks dump in a lot at once that the pipes end up clogged. The worst I’ve seen, though, was grease, I think. She had a good 2-3 feet of solid fat blocking her pipes. Thankfully it had cooled off before the pipes reached the walls, so I was able to get it all cleared away. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973/40 "2007-06-07T20:13:53Z")
“What do you got, a Clarkman?” My father was cleaning out Grandma’s apartment and is rather compulsive on the whole. He decided any foodstuffs should go down the disposal. Including her supply of rice. :smack: Maintenance had to be called to reattach the pipe and Pop still had to put in Liquid Plumber to try to dislodge it. I know, that’s bad. So, not uncooked rice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cant-go-in-the-garbage-disposal/406973.md?page=3)