What NOT to Put Down the Kitchen Sink Drain!

Your garbage disposal is an incredibly convenient piece of hardware, helping to prevent clogs by grinding down food particles until they can safely pass through your drain system. Garbage disposals are built to last, but if you put the wrong kind of food in them, they can run into problems very quickly. Garbage disposal repair can be performed by any number of qualified plumbing services in the Houston Area. But you can stop the problem before it starts by declining to place problematic food in the disposal to begin with. Avoid an unpleasant surprise: here are food items that shouldn’t go into the disposal.

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  • Bones. Chicken and beef bones, fish bones and any other types of bones can’t be readily broken up by the disposal. Indeed, they can often jam the mechanism and even break the gears if left alone.
  • Fruits seeds. Similarly, fruit seeds such as peach pits can jam the mechanism and cause untold damage if placed in the garbage disposal.
  • Grease and fat. Liquid oil, grease and hot fat can solidify in the drains, causing a clog. You can discard it by placing it in a disposable jar such as an old mayonnaise jar and sealing it before placing it in the trash.
  • Fibrous vegetables. This can include potato peelings, celery, asparagus, artichokes and any vegetable with a fibrous content. They can wrap around the grinding blades and disrupt the disposal’s ability to function.
  • Rice and pasta. Though not inherently bad for the disposal, these foods will expand when they get wet, and possibly clog the disposal’s food trap over time.
  • Coffee grounds. Like a lot of other foods on this list, coffee grounds are tough to break down, and can cause increased friction between moving parts.

Food items that shouldn’t go in the disposal are fairly easy to spot once you understand the damage they can cause, and common sense prevention can avoid a lot of the problems associated with garbage disposals. For other issues, call on Daniels Plumbing, and we will be glad to help. We serve homes throughout the Houston area, garbage disposal problems can be readily corrected by our trained experts, and we’re dedicated to doing the job right the first time, every time. Give us a call today! 281.351.6661

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