Foods You Shouldn't Put in Your Garbage Disposal

Extremely Hard Foods

• Never put extremely hard food products, such as fruit pits or bones, down your garbage disposal. Hard items like this can quickly dull the blades or in some instances cause the blades to break. In some instances, hard items can jam the disposal and prevent the blades from turning and can cause the motor to burn out. If this happens, use the socket that came with the disposal and insert it into the underside of the disposal; then turn the socket counterclockwise to manually loosen the jam.

Greasy Foods

• Avoid putting greasy foods of any kind down the disposal. Also, pouring solid animal fats down the disposal will definitely cause problems. Grease in the disposal can lead to a layer of slimy grease on the blades and significantly reduce their effectiveness. As the grease breaks down over time, it will begin to rot and will be a major cause of foul odors coming from the disposal.

Fibrous Foods

• Food items such as banana peels, celery, carrots, onion skins and potato skins, especially when put in the disposal in large quantities, can easily get tangled in the blades and clog the disposal. If you must put fibrous foods down the disposal, do it in small quantities and run cold water while running the disposal. This will help keep the disposal clean and reduce the risk of clogging it.

Maintaining Your Disposal

• A clean garbage disposal will not only prevent foul odors escaping from it, but will also keep the blades working more efficiently. Once a week with the disposal off, put a handful of ice cubes into it. Then, add a few slices of lime, orange, or lemon with the skin intact. Run some cold water and turn the disposal on for a minute. The ice, along with the acid in the fruit, will clean off the blades and also kill any odors inside the disposal.