1. Fibrous Foods
Foods with tough skins or fibers like carrots, celery, potatoes, and soybeans can seriously impede the function of the motor of your garbage disposal. Strings and fibers from tough vegetables can wrap around the blades, which keeps the blades from spinning and puts stress on the motor.
2. Hard Foods
Very hard foods like avocado pits, chicken bones, and ribs can do severe damage to your unit’s blades. Running these items through the garbage disposal can dull or break its blades, jam the disposal, or even break the motor. If you wouldn’t chew it, don’t expect your garbage disposal to break it down.
3. Grease
You have probably heard about all of the different ways you can supposedly pour grease down the sink without damaging your plumbing. In reality, grease is bad for your drains, period. Grease creates a film on the blades of your garbage disposal, which not only makes them less effective but also creates a foul odor when the grease starts to decay. Even if you pour hot grease down the drain with boiling water, it will solidify in your home’s pipes and potentially clog them.
4. Other Hazards
It’s the second-biggest household debate after which way to orient your toilet paper: do you put eggshells in the sink or the garbage? If you answered “garbage,” you probably have a healthier garbage disposal. Eggshells can clog drains, and the membranes on the inside can tangle up your garbage disposal’s blades. Many people say to use a handful of citrus peels to clean and deodorize your garbage disposal. Those people are wrong. Citrus peels will dull your garbage disposal’s blades. Rice and pasta should both be kept away from garbage disposals as well. When they expand in water, they can clog the garbage disposal’s trap.