299035 Sat Oct 30 18:32:45 -0700 2004 28 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1655130 No egg shells, potato peels, artichoke leaves, celery. What else? Sat Oct 30 18:32:45 -0700 2004 0 Cynthia 1 1655132 forks and spoons! Sat Oct 30 19:02:09 -0700 2004 1655130 0 Marilayne 2 1655140 or fingers! Sat Oct 30 20:49:09 -0700 2004 1655132 0 Tracy L. 1 1655135 Corn husks Sunflower seed hulls Sat Oct 30 20:25:50 -0700 2004 1655130 0 Chimayo Joe 1 1655142 uncooked animal fat bacon fat lard bones of any size If you have a manual, that helps know what yours can handle. Some will even take small amounts of celery (not many, though - careful). Some won't even cut grapefruit peels well enough and they then can clog the drain. And, like Phil suggested (and I agree) try to recycle foods into the garden mulch if you have a yard. My friend in SLO keeps a little opaque plastic covered bucket at her sink that then goes to the bin outside and almost nothing goes down the disposal. And, not just for mulch. For purity of area water system, too. Some environmentalists ask that no food stuff, even milk, goes into the sewer system > and use biodegradable soaps. Your choice, for now anyway. Sat Oct 30 21:34:30 -0700 2004 1655130 0 kc girl 1 1655144 PASTA! Ours broke after our housesitter stuffed it with pasta when we were gone. Plumer say's big no-no. And anything you do put into it do slowly with water running. Sat Oct 30 22:07:41 -0700 2004 1655130 0 JoCreek 1 1655160 I've never lived in a place with a garbage disposal, so could someone explain to me what's the point of having one if every other thing that I'd want to toss into it is a no-no? Link: http://meglioranza.com Sun Oct 31 08:03:07 -0800 2004 1655130 0 Tom Meg 2 1655167 Some things you don't want to put down the desposal because it will clog. Celery will do it quicker than anything. I had a new dishwasher that worked for me put a quart of uncooked rice down the disposal, that didn't work out very well. Never heard about not putting egg shells or potato peelings, I do that regularly. My manual states the bones are beneficial to keep the blades sharp. Sun Oct 31 11:19:55 -0800 2004 1655160 0 chileheadmike 2 1655176 Ha, I sympathise completely. My last apartment had a disposal that clogged. When I called the management company, they told me not to put any food down the disposal. "What??" I said. "You're supposed to throw everything solid down the trash, then whatever's left over you can rinse off into the disposal." So... what's the point of a disposal? I still don't know. Mr. Taster P.S. I just had some German friends visit who had never seen a garbage disposal... I came around the corner to see them both peering down into the sink saying "ein schredder!" Sun Oct 31 13:52:07 -0800 2004 1655160 0 Mr. Taster 2 1655226 This thread reminds me very much of the "things you can't put in the dishwasher" thread. Some people are apparently a lot more restrained than others. I put *almost* everything you can think of down the disposal (just like I throw everything in the dishwasher). Lime and lemon halves are the only things that just won't go down. And a few things that are obvious because they are hard (olive pits,cherry pits) or hugely voluminous (corn husks, bananna peels). Just know that if you ever move somewhere WITH a disposal you will be desolate if you later have to live without it. Mon Nov 01 08:41:23 -0800 2004 1655160 0 danna 3 1655331 Even less restrained here! I deliberately put lime and lemon halves to put down my disposal to remove any icky odors. My parents have obsessive rules about what can and cannot go down a disposal. Perhaps disposal technology has improved over time? Mon Nov 01 17:10:09 -0800 2004 1655226 0 caliston 4 1655507 I agree that some people just are more cautious. I also enjoy the clean-up job of lemons and limes in the disposal, though if the blades can't quite break down the end nubby bit, I'll discard it after multiple attempts. And not only do I put banana peels and eggshells in my disposal, I'll even wash down small amounts of bacon fat or cooking oil with a very healthy squeeze of dish liquid and a flood of hot water. (I don't put olive pits, corn cobs, or bones in it, though.) And I suppose some people are going by the idea that less wear and tear means less chance of having to replace the appliance. (These are probably the same folks that have the "good towels" hanging up and use the ratty ones for actually drying off. My folks are like this. I am not. No offense to the rule-makers among us.) Tue Nov 02 16:26:01 -0800 2004 1655331 0 --susan 1 1655162 I always put potato peels and egg shells in the disposal. Celery too. I've never had a problem. We're going on 5 years with this disposal. (My mom's had her disposal for at least a dozen years and she uses it for all of the above as well.) Every so often I throw a lemon rind in there as well. What's the issue? Sun Oct 31 10:27:39 -0800 2004 1655130 0 Dipsy 2 1655173 Maybe you're blessed w/ a good quality disposal that can take most things, but I have bad memories of clogging up my disposal (twice!) in my grad school apt. w/ potato peels. My bro has also had that happen to him at his place (runs in the family, I guess). From the other posts, it seems like any sort of rind or shell is probably safer in the trash since they can be too fiberous or starchy for the disposal to handle. The inconvenience of having to deal w/ an indisposed disposal is simply not worth it! Sun Oct 31 13:24:08 -0800 2004 1655162 0 Carb Lover 3 1655230 I think there are two issues being discussed as one here. There are some things like egg shells that are not good for septic systems and there are others like artichoke leaves that are not good for the disposal unit. My own experience with some items dictate that they must be followed by copious amounts of water to insure that they do not linger in the pipes and swell up to clog the system. If you have city sewer, egg shells are no problem, but artichoke leaves are. Potato skins should not be put in the unit without lots of water lest the starch settle in the trap and clog it up. Mon Nov 01 09:23:27 -0800 2004 1655173 0 HungryChris 2 1655178 When I installed a new In-Sink-Erator a few years ago, the instructions recommended that I occasionally throw egg shells and chicken bones down the disposal to keep the blades sharp. I found some instructions on their website linked below. They read a bit different than what I remember: in the link they suggest putting small bones, fruit pits, ice, and citrus peel down the drain, but no mention of egg shells anymore. Link: http://www.insinkerator.com/pdf/US_ICU1.pdf Sun Oct 31 14:06:41 -0800 2004 1655162 0 nja 2 1655181 I do compost all the plant material - and thankfully, I don't have a garbage disposal now. I have had my own once-in-a-lifetime disasters with disposals and it is very embarrassing to call the plumber during a dinner party. Perhaps, it was the quantity of potato peelings - it made a solid mass of glue that clogged the drain. It also happened with egg shells. And, the discarded artichoke petals (or, leaves, whatever) jammed the blades of the disposal and I had to replace the disposal. The celery was blade-jammin', too. If I must use a disposal, it's very slowly and with alot of running water. Ice cubes are good for blade sharpening and lemons refresh any odors. Sun Oct 31 15:11:48 -0800 2004 1655162 0 Cynthia 1 1655165 No shrimp shells and to my surprise I clogged mine by pouring too fast dry rice. Sun Oct 31 11:17:08 -0800 2004 1655130 0 Hugh Lipton 1 1655177 Anything that can be composted should not go in the garbage disposal! Sun Oct 31 13:55:21 -0800 2004 1655130 0 rudeboy 1 1655180 I've never thought to put artichoke leaves down the disposal because they seem too tough for the unit to deal with successfully. And I've never had trouble with celery or egg shells, but potato skins have been a problem more than once. Our favorite plumber says that the disposal doesn't chop the skins into small enough pieces to flow on through and keep the starch from causing the skins to 'glump' together. Since GLUE can be made from starch, this makes sense. One thing about egg shells I did notice during a recent trap-opening under the sink. The only thing in the trap was egg shell, just sitting at the bottom. I got the impression that they are of a particular density that they don't flow through but stay in place and sink. Not at all sure of that though. Sun Oct 31 15:05:49 -0800 2004 1655130 0 Midlife 2 1655182 Aha! —So, that's what happens with the egg shells! It's little wonder that my plumber said NEVER put egg shells in the disposal ever again! and yes, the potatoes were a gluey mass. Sun Oct 31 15:16:44 -0800 2004 1655180 0 Cynthia 3 1655215 I've been putting eggshells in the garbage disposal all my life without any problem. I know to avoid celery, onion, and artichoke, but potato peels haven't ever given me trouble either. Sun Oct 31 23:40:37 -0800 2004 1655182 0 LBQT 1 1655184 Banana peels are also meant to be too fiberous. I've also been told onion skins, which kind of makes sense. Ever get a wet onion skin on something, then it dries on and you can't ever get it off... Sun Oct 31 15:38:25 -0800 2004 1655130 0 innoabrd 1 1655219 In "Love! Valour! Compassion!" there's a memorable scene where a homeowner is told that coffee grounds should never be put down the disposal--something I do regularly, so I would love to know what the science of that no-no is. Another interesting point is that when I took a tour of my nearby sewage treatment facility here in san francisco, I was told that the sewage that runs through the sewers is actually a few small fraction of household waste (less than 5%, I forgot the number now, it was a few years ago). (The rest of what runs through sewer pipes is rain drainage, environmental etceteras ....) Mon Nov 01 03:21:25 -0800 2004 1655130 0 suekiyaki 1 1655266 You notice how many threads include "my plumber says", throw away the garbage disposal and either toss or compost your garbage. I own rental property and yet while I live in an old house with poor plumbing (I usually have to custom make my copper fittings because I'm too lazy to rip it all out and re-plumb) I never have drainage problems. Run a lot of water down the sink every time you do dishes and don't put solids or oil in your drain pipes. Running plenty of water through plumbing is the key to good plumbing. Mon Nov 01 13:37:16 -0800 2004 1655130 0 muD 1 1655270 Carrot peels. Peanut shells. Mon Nov 01 13:59:58 -0800 2004 1655130 0 2chez mike 1 1655286 Just found one more thing. Chile stems. The wife is going to get me. Just picked and destemmed 2 gallon buckets of chiles picked fresh from the back yard. In the process of making my own hot sauce. I thought I put them down slow enough, but, the thing backed up. Good thing its not too cold in KC today and I can leave the doors open. Smells good to me. Mon Nov 01 14:34:29 -0800 2004 1655130 0 chileheadmike 1 1655370 The problem in my experience is not so much with what you put down, but how powerful your garbage disposal is, and how wide your pipes are. At my old house, I put down everything, including potato peels, egg shells, citrus peels, celery, etc. and never once had a problem. Where I live now, potato and other peels such as carrot are almost guaranteed to clog the thing, but citrus, eggshells, etc. are fine. After two or three visits from the plumber to clear out back ups, he told me that my problem was the garbage disposal I had was *too* powerful for the width of my pipes -- that it sucked down pieces of food that were too big, and it was meant to be used in a more industrial setting with wider pipes than my residential kitchen. I also had him show me how to clear out the line myself, which has come in handy on more than one occasion. Mon Nov 01 20:22:35 -0800 2004 1655130 0 DanaB 1 1655822 NO HANDS!!!!! Fri Nov 05 09:41:48 -0800 2004 1655130 0 edwood