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This is the question I get asked by every customer after I told them they shouldn’t use their garbage disposal. I usually tell them this after I spend an hour or two cleaning out their kitchen drainpipes. A job that will have cost them at least a couple hundred dollars.
Every time I am asked this, I simply give the same answer of “it’s for the OOPS moments”. The times that your three-year-old wants to be a big helper and clean off his or her plate and just dumps all their broccoli they refused to eat down the drain. When you don’t quite get everything off the pots and pans after making dinner. These are the moments that having the garbage disposal is beneficial.
I’ll usually follow up this answer with “anything solid that goes down your drains is a potential clog”. Whether a whole piece of broccoli or a grounded-up piece goes down your drain, it will still be a solid. It will still potentially clog up your drains. Might not be at that moment, but it will build up to it over time. Dumping last week's leftovers down the drain and just grinding it up is a for sure way to have to make a call to a drain technician like myself in the near future. This is almost always followed by the question “well what can go down the garbage disposal?” In which I always answer with “water, and the occasional soap”. Joking of course but not too far from the truth. This question is best answered by saying the main items that should never go down a drain. Rice and pasta do not grind up! They somehow slither right on by the blades and into the drain whole.
Egg shells! The ole wife's tale of throw eggshells down to sharpen the blades. This may or may not be true but eggshells in your drain will build up over time. A job a few years back, three eggshells a day for over three years. Took over four hours to get through all the shells! Felt like I was drilling through concrete. Vegetable peels and red meat act just like pasta and slithers right on by the blades. Last but not least, dry dog food! Especially a whole bag of it! Probably the worse smell I’ve ever smelled, and it turned into a mush that was almost impossible to get through. Minimal amounts of food should go down the garbage disposal and should always be followed by plenty of water to flush it out to the city. The last thing I tell my customers before leaving their home is that “water is their friend until they have a clog”. The more water you run; the better chance you have of flushing anything solid down your drain completely. So, why have a garbage disposal? Just for those OOPS moments!
