The garbage disposal and the kitchen sink are the unsung workhorses of our homes. We rely on them every single day to make cleanup faster and easier, washing away the remnants of our daily meals. It’s tempting to think of the drain as a bottomless pit, a magic portal where all of our food scraps can simply disappear.
But your garbage disposal is not an industrial-strength trash compactor, and your kitchen drain is not designed to handle everything. Treating it like one is the fastest way to create a stubborn, disgusting, and expensive clog that will have you frantically calling a professional plumber. The good news is that most of these kitchen plumbing nightmares are completely preventable. It all starts with knowing which foods should never, ever go down the drain.
To keep your pipes flowing freely, here are six of the biggest offenders that should always go in the trash or the compost bin, not down the sink.
1. Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG)
This is, without a doubt, the number one enemy of a healthy plumbing system. When you pour hot, liquid bacon grease or cooking oil down the drain, it may seem harmless. But as soon as that hot grease hits the cold water and the cool pipes, it solidifies into a thick, sticky, waxy substance.
This greasy coating clings to the inside of your pipes and acts like flypaper, trapping every other small particle of food that comes down the drain. Over time, this builds into a massive, hard-to-remove clog.
2. Coffee Grounds
This is one that surprises many people. It seems logical that small coffee grounds would wash away easily. But the reality is that coffee grounds do not break down in water. They are a heavy, dense sediment that can clump together and get trapped in the low points and bends of your drain lines, creating a stubborn, sludge-like blockage.
3. Expandable, Starchy Foods
Think about what happens when you cook pasta or rice: they absorb water and swell up to several times their original size. They do the exact same thing inside your pipes. A small amount of leftover pasta, rice, oatmeal, or even bread scraps that go down the drain can continue to absorb water and expand, creating a dense, dough-like plug in your P-trap.
4. Fibrous Vegetables
Your garbage disposal works with a spinning, blunt impeller, not with sharp blades. Fibrous, stringy vegetables can be a nightmare for it. The long, tough fibers from things like celery, corn husks, and artichokes can wrap themselves around the impeller, causing the motor to jam and potentially burn out. Always toss these items in the compost.
5. Eggshells
This is another common myth. Some people believe that the sharp edges of crushed eggshells can help to “sharpen” the blades of a garbage disposal. This is not true. The more significant problem is the thin, sticky membrane on the inside of the eggshell. This membrane can cling to the inside of your pipes, and the small, hard shell fragments can contribute to a larger clog.
6. Bones and Fruit Pits
While a powerful, high-end garbage disposal might be able to grind up a few small chicken bones, it’s a very risky habit. Your residential disposal is simply not designed to handle hard, solid objects like bones, fruit pits (from peaches, avocados, etc.), or corn cobs. These items can easily jam or break the disposal’s motor and will not break down in your pipes, leading to a clog further down the line.
A Word of Warning About Chemical Drain Cleaners
When you do get a clog, it can be tempting to reach for a bottle of harsh, chemical drain cleaner. This is often a mistake. These caustic chemicals are not very effective on the types of clogs caused by grease and food buildup. Even worse, they are highly corrosive and can cause serious damage to older, metal pipes. A simple mechanical fix is almost always a safer and more effective option.
When in doubt, remember the simple rule: your drain is not a trash can. The easiest and cheapest way to prevent a plumbing emergency is to be mindful of what goes down it.