When we refurbished our kitchen in Illinois we installed a shiny (I think it was shiny), new garbage disposal. Then I happily peeled a bunch of carrots and pushed it down the garbage disposal. Uhhhh....
Water backed up. The garbage disposal made sick sounds. We called in the plumber who told us he often gets calls from people who stuff things like carrot peels down the drain. From that time on, we've gone back to stuffing food debris in garbage bags or milk cartons and throwing it out with our regular garbage.
When we moved to Hawaii and renovated the kitchen we got a shiny, new garbage disposal again. I'm wondering why because Art is super cautious about not sending anything down the drain.
I was recently talking to our good friend, Craig who happens to be a plumber. He said another thing people really shouldn't throw into their drains is coffee grounds. I could hardly believe it. Seems to me it's just granules and shouldn't have a hard time passing through the drainage system. Craig says he would send a small camera down into the clogged drain to see what the problem was and it's often piled up coffee grains. No kidding?
That led me to looking up what sort of things you shouldn't throw into your garbage disposal.
Grease and oil, greasy meats, pasta and rice (cooked or uncooked), potatoes and potato skins, stringy or fibrous food like onions, garlic, celery, etc., fruit peels, eggshells, bones.... and yes, coffee grains. Sheesh!
OK... Can you remember all this?
Forget it. I'm throwing my food garbage in bags and cartons with the regular trash just like Craig's wife!
When we moved to Hawaii and renovated the kitchen we got a shiny, new garbage disposal again. I'm wondering why because Art is super cautious about not sending anything down the drain.
I was recently talking to our good friend, Craig who happens to be a plumber. He said another thing people really shouldn't throw into their drains is coffee grounds. I could hardly believe it. Seems to me it's just granules and shouldn't have a hard time passing through the drainage system. Craig says he would send a small camera down into the clogged drain to see what the problem was and it's often piled up coffee grains. No kidding?
That led me to looking up what sort of things you shouldn't throw into your garbage disposal.
Grease and oil, greasy meats, pasta and rice (cooked or uncooked), potatoes and potato skins, stringy or fibrous food like onions, garlic, celery, etc., fruit peels, eggshells, bones.... and yes, coffee grains. Sheesh!
OK... Can you remember all this?
Forget it. I'm throwing my food garbage in bags and cartons with the regular trash just like Craig's wife!
Once on Thanksgiving Day back in the 1980's, I peeled potatoes for Thanksgiving day dinner into the garbage disposal. That backed up too. Since then, I have always peeled my potatoes onto a paper towel or two or into a plastic bag that goes into the trash. I do scrape plates into the garbage disposal but I run lots of water through it as I turn on the disposal. I know just how you feel,Kay.
ReplyDeleteOur garbage disposal is in situ merely for decoration(!!) after it refused to dispose of anything! Shame, really, as it seemed such a good idea at the time . . .
ReplyDeleteI compost all that stuff. Now that I am in a condo, I take it in a bucket to a collection site but I used to have a bin in my yard and made good compost to mix into the garden soil. Florida is not as environmentally progressive as VT, which is a shame since they have so much more growing season and sunshine. Doubt that situation is going to get any better int he next few years.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a garbage disposal for years. They never seemed to work well for me, and now I know they don't for most people! I keep learning new things from you all the time, Kay. :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a disposal in thirty years. The one I left behind was too cranky.
ReplyDeletesounds like the best idea!
ReplyDeleteMulch. The coffee grounds make great mulch for your outdoor plants.
ReplyDeleteUh, just what is a garbage disposal used for other than bragging rights. It has way more don'ts than do's. Glad I never sprang for one.
ReplyDeleteyeah, we scrape all food before we put it to rinse before it goes in the dishwasher, and I take all veggie/fruit clippings from the chopping block and throw in the trash can. Good tips though!
ReplyDeleteI was looking forward to having a garbage disposal after 19 years without & composting or else throwing it away in the trash, but now after reading your post & other's comments , I didn't realize how ineffective a garbage disposal could be. Good grief, why even bother having one?
ReplyDeletePatty
Such is true....
DeleteWe stopped using our disposal when the old pipes in our house kept clogging. Kind of a pain but waaay better than having to replace the pipes.
ReplyDeletewe rarely used our disposal-now I know why...thanks!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other commentors. What, exactly, then, is a garbage disposal going to be used for?
ReplyDeleteI guess if I had to do it over again, we wouldn't have installed the disposal since we never use it.
DeleteWe had one of those things once and took it out.
ReplyDeleteOh my! That is an extensive list of not-to-put-in. So, what CAN we use the disposal for? Water?
ReplyDeleteIn all of my 50 years of living in apartments, condos, and houses I have never trusted the garbage disposal. They seem to be fine but back up at Christmas and Thanksgiving, whenever there are a lot of guests and when the relatives are coming over. I have seen this happen at my aunt's house at Christmas and my MIL's house at thanksgiving, a friend's house at a large birthday bash. I never put anything down the disposal and warn anyone in my kitchen to not put anything down the disposal.
ReplyDeleteSigh... I'm doing the same thing. Thank you so much for your comment MaryAnn!
DeleteOur house doesn't have one and I don't want one for that reason.
ReplyDeleteWe use our disposal infrequently. We composted all of our fruit and vegetable scraps for years, and they went into the raspberry patch soil. Now we have yard waste service, which includes kitchen waste too. It all goes to a commercial compost company.
ReplyDelete