Recipe Station

I was pleased to find out that I was not alone in my ignorance of how to properly use a garbage disposal. As it turned out, a few of my friends had no idea as well. So here is a list

1. Starchy Foods

 “There are several foods that cause big problems in your drain when you put large quantities into the disposal,” says Abrams. “The worst offenders are pasta, potato peels, and rice. These starchy foods turn to goo inside your drain.” Drain those items through a sieve or colander and then dump the rest into the trash. Then, use a paper towel to clean out the remnants from the strainer before you wash it.”

2. Fat

Your sink should be on a  fat-restricted diet. Fat is something that you should never put down your drain as  “It goes in as a liquid, but it will congeal like candle wax and gradually decrease the diameter of your drainpipe until the flow eventually stops altogether,”

There are some other options that you can use. My grandmother used to keep an old can nearby and would put the fat into the can and then throw it away when she was finished.

3. Breakfast Stuff

Even though broken eggshells and coffee grinds are small they can still cause problems.

“It takes a lot of water to push them through your drainage system so they usually end up contributing to a clog deep inside your pipes,”

The best thing to do with eggshells is to peel them over the garbage can and to use the coffee grounds in a garden or outside around bushes. The nutrients will help the plants grow so you get even more use out of them than simply coffee.

4. Fibrous Foods

“Fibrous foods like celery chunks and carrot peels can overwhelm the disposal and clog your drain,”

5. Seeds

Seeds of all sizes can be very problematic to a disposal.

 “Large seeds end up bouncing around inside the disposal like a rock, They'll just clatter around inside and beat up your disposal until it is finally removed.”

Smaller seeds, like flax seeds, will just get stuck in the curves of the pipes and cause backups.

Source: TheKtchn