What Not to Put Down a Waste Disposal
Posted by Ship It Appliances Ltd on 25th Jan 2018
Waste disposal units offer a convenient means of getting rid of food waste, but they cannot chew up everything. There are limits to what they can dispose of. To help you out, we listed ten items that you should never put down your waste disposal unit.
Fat
Grease, oil, butter and so on are nice and runny when they are hot, so you might think nothing of pouring them down the sink. Unfortunately when they cool they solidify, and cause blockages. You should never pour fats down the sink anyway, and having a waste disposal unit does not change this.
Starch
Pasta, rice, beans and potato peelings tend to expand as they absorb water, and since your waste disposal is built to shred them to tiny pieces, the resulting pulpy soup is very likely to cause a blockage. Put these bits of waste on a compost heap instead.
Bones
Even the strongest waste disposal units will struggle to grind up bone. Those that do find their way into the pipes tend to do so in oversized chunks, which can cause problems.
Flour
Flour is used in cooking to absorb liquid and make a paste. Of course, that paste and your plumbing do not mix, so do not put flour down the waste disposal.
Ground Coffee
Ground coffee readily absorbs water, so when it finds its way into the plumbing it will turn into a foul smelling sludge that will take weeks to decay. Do not put coffee down your waste disposal unit. Put it on a compost heap.
Celery
You might not think of celery as something that could cause problems, but unfortunately it is made of long, stringy fibres which can wrap around the inside of a waste disposal unit. The same is true of asparagus.
Stones
While small seeds are fine, the stones you get in a plum or avocado are generally too large and tough to be properly ground up. As such, they will stick around in your waste disposal. The same is true of coconut shells and other items of a similar firmness.
Eggshells
While the shells themselves are not too much of a problem, the membrane that lines the interior can be, since it can wrap around the inside of the unit and wreak havoc.
Onion skins
This one is a little bit more contentious, as you might be able to get away with the occasional onion. However, onions also come with a membrane that can sometimes stick to the inside of the unit. Add them to the compost heap instead.
Non-food items
This general term encompasses anything that is not food, everything from a runaway fork that you might have accidentally dropped in there, to cigarette butts or food packaging. Do not be lazy, stick them in the bin instead.