Plumbing Resolutions for 2022: Resolution #2

This year seems like a good year to be a little kinder to your plumbing, doesn’t it? Over the month of January, we are going to suggest four resolutions we think you should make to give your pipes and drains and everything else a little extra love in 2022. If you missed it, here was resolution #1. Today, we present to you resolution #2: 

Resolution #2: Treat your garbage disposal more gently. 

Little known and much disputed fact – garbage disposals aren’t actually for you to just throw your garbage in. There are plenty of things that aren’t meant to go down your drain, even if it is equipped with a whirling blade. Here are a few of the biggest offenders: 

Coffee grounds 

This one tends to surprise people. After all, they’re small and they smell good. But you know what else they are? A great way to create a dense, little, black clog! The good news is that coffee grounds are easy to dispose of – just put them in your garden (where they can repel pests and kill slugs) or your compost (or at a local compost depot).  

Bones or shells 

We’re not entirely sure why people think you can dispose of bones from your meal in your garbage disposal. The blades are in no way intended to deal with hard items like chicken wings or an oyster shell. The occasional small bone will be fine, but generally avoid throwing things like bones or pits down the garbage disposal. This can cause the blades to jam or damage them entirely, leading to an expensive repair bill. Even something as seemingly harmless as an eggshell can wreak havoc on your garbage disposal (and no, they don’t help to keep your blades sharp!) – those membranes on the inside of the shell can easily get wrapped around the grinder.  

Onion skins 

Again – seems harmless enough, right? How can this papery peel possibly cause damage to something with a moving blade? The problem is that a lot of the skin is so flimsy and thin that it can pass right through the blades and create a clog that can trap more items and create a big problem. This is another good item for the compost bin.  

Paint, oils or solvents 

Just a reminder that these shouldn’t go down any drain, including one with a garbage disposal. Not only are they pollutants that should be disposed of properly, but they can also cause really intractable clogs that lead to expensive repairs.  

Potato peels or fibrous/stringy/starchy vegetable scraps 

Those strings of fiber – think about banana peels, or even asparagus – can easily wrap around the disposal’s grinder and damage your system. Potato peels will either be too thin to be caught by the blade and cause a catch in the drain (see onion skins, above) or make a sticky, starchy paste that can build into a considerable blockage. The same goes for other starchy vegetable scraps, but these are perfect for a compost bin! 

If you treat your garbage disposal well, it can make cleaning up your kitchen a lot easier. But a mistreated disposal can mean big repair bills. So, make 2022 the year you are much more intentional about how you use your favourite kitchen appliance!