It was an ordinary day. Just finished eating our supper and have begun to clear the table. In our house we have a deal whereby my wife cooks the meals and I clean up after we are done eating. I usually keep my end of the deal, but I'm sure there have been a few times that I might have fallen asleep on my lounge chair and slept right through clean-up time. Clean-up really isn't a big deal...take our two plates from our snack trays after we have finished eating while watching the evening news and wash them off in the sink and then place them in the dishwasher. Same goes for any pots and pans. Then shove everything down the garbage disposal, turn on the water and listen to everything get ground to pieces and head down the pipes. It's worked out well for years until a few weeks ago when I read about the dozen or so things you should never flush down the garbage disposal. Now...you knew I just had to list them for you so you too wouldn't have to buy a new disposal as we did a few months ago. The following items I found published, but a few of the items I have listed were given to me by my plumber...Joe The Plumber...so as not to have to buy a new disposal anytime in the near future. Follow along...
1. Egg Shells - the sharp edges tend to collect other debris and can clog the drain.
2. Grease - such as cooking oil, butter, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and animal fat.
3. Flour - this coagulates when mixed with water and can clog the disposal.
4. Medications - these can leak back into our drinking water and contaminate our water supply. Know that it might happen if everyone did it. Place pills in the trash which will go to the landfill.
5. Stickers on produce - Those little stickers don't dissolve in the garbage disposal and can clog your disposal as well as cause clogs at the treatment plant.
6. Coffee grounds - This, my plumber told me, is the most common reason he is called to open up drains.
7. Items claiming to be flushable - Most are not flushable such as wipes, kitty litter, etc.
8. Condoms - Yes, some people evidently try to flush them down the garbage disposal. They don't disintegrate and could eventually work their way to the ocean and kill marine life.
9. Cleaning Products - Items such as cleaning chemicals, phosphates, antibacterial agents, different compounds, etc. Once again, they don't dissolve and can clog your home line.
10. Paper products - About the only paper you can put in your pipes is toilet paper. It was designed to disintegrate and usually will do so in a garbage disposal unless you overdo it. Paper towels, cotton balls and feminine hygiene products should never be placed in your home's water pipes.
11. Some foods - My plumber told me that he would suggest that I don't use my garbage disposal for pasta items or even rice. They can swell in size and clog the drain.
12. Paint - This last item should be a no brainer, but I did see that unused paint, even water-soluble paint should not be placed in the garbage disposal or water lines since it pollutes the environment and can be harmful to pets and other animals if it comes back up in your pipes outside. Dispose of old paint at a hazardous waste facility.
Have you placed any of these items in your garbage disposal in the past? If so, I hope you can see why it might be best not to do so in the future. I hope I can remember all of what I have just written so as to avoid any problems with my disposal and my plumber, Joe. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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