Garbage disposals are meant to make clean-up in the kitchen swift and easy. But not all foods should go down the disposal and can be harmful to your plumbing. While you can safely dispose of most by-products through your drain, there are a few you should avoid. If these items cause a problem in your disposal, call a professional plumber to help fix the problem.

Which Foods Harm the Garbage Disposal

1. Pasta & Rice

When the garbage disposal works properly, a sharp metal grinder shreds the waste into fine pieces before flushing them out of the tank and into either your septic system or the sewer system. Disposing of pasta or rice is strongly discouraged due to their size and texture. Spaghetti pasta can wrap itself around the grinder and bits of rice can get lodged in the gears as well. If you have to dispose of these, put them in a composter or the garbage can when you clean up. 

2. Grease & Oil

Many plumbers recommend that you do not put grease or oil into your disposal. These substances solidify if they are left to sit without being flushed out right away. This hardening clogs the mechanism of your disposal and is a mess to clean up. You should flush out the grease with warm water or dispose of it in the trash rather than your drains. Call a plumber to unclog your garbage disposal or drains if this happens.

3. Stringy Vegetables

Similar to pasta, fibrous vegetables such as celery and asparagus can get tangled around the grinder and cause your disposal to stop working. They can also clog the drains and cause further issues in your plumbing if they are not flushed out or removed right away.

4. Bones

Bones from chickens or large animal meats such as beef and pork are too big for your disposal to grind. Large bones can damage the mechanism and motor of a garbage disposal. If these accidentally end up in your drain, call a plumber to help fish out these parts.

If you are having problems with your garbage disposal, call the expert plumbers at Powell Plumbing & Pumps. As a family-owned business in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, you can rest assured that you’ll get quality customer service along with expert knowledge to help fix your problem. Give them a call today at (715) 325-2050 or visit them online for more information on other services they offer.