Be careful with what you send through your garbage disposal. Some food items, like coffee grounds, can cause blockages in your sewer system.
The convenience of in-sink garbage disposals is obvious. These make food clean-up quick and simple, and they help keep food out of the garbage can. Gross, wet food can leak out of garbage bags and create a smelly mess for you to clean up. It’s important to be smart about what you put through your sink disposal though, or it’ll become a major inconvenience.
Fats, Oils, and Grease
Also called FOG, these foods clog pipes the same way they clog arteries. Fatty, oily, and greasy foods harden on the walls during their trip down the pipe system and create constriction. As more and more of these foods go down your pipes, the more it builds up and the tighter that constriction gets. Eventually, your pipe system will experience a blockage and you’ll need to call in a professional to have it cleared out. Let these foods congeal first and then toss them into the garbage can instead of sending them down your sink disposal.
Coffee Grounds
After enjoying a delicious morning coffee, it’s understandable that you don’t want to toss those wet grounds into your trash can. Unfortunately, you may have noticed the grounds like to clump together in your filter. They will do this in your pipes, too. Since the grounds can’t dry out after going down your sink disposal, they’ll eventually cause a blockage. Leave them out to dry and toss them into the garbage.
High-Starch Foods
Potatoes, rice, and pasta are some examples of high-starch foods that are a threat to the health of your sewer system. Wet potatoes become mushy and sticky, while pasta and rice swell in water. These kinds of foods become almost glue-like while going through pipes, so they’re not safe to send through your sink disposal.
Egg Shells
A disposal is basically a blender for your sink. The thing about blenders is that it takes a minute for solid food to be ground up to a very fine consistency. A disposal doesn’t have that kind of time to work with, so egg shells don’t get nearly as small as you may think before entering your sewer system. Even fine shells tend to stick together and will become a future blockage.
Call Mahon Plumbing Today
If you still have more questions regarding your plumbing, we here at Mahon Plumbing are here to help. We have been serving the wider Baltimore area since 1994, so we have 25 years of experience to back up our fantastic service! Call us at our Baltimore location at 410-766-8566 or our Pasadena location at 410-636-7944. Be sure to keep up with us on social media by following us on Facebook or Twitter.