Christmas and the holiday season are the best time to gather family and friends around the table for a delicious meal. The prep work and the cleanup, however, aren’t exactly part of the holiday fun. Although you may want to hurry up and get back to the celebration, you shouldn’t take a shortcut by putting any of these five holiday foods down the drain and into your garbage disposal.
1. Vegetable Peels and Skins
Side dishes like mashed potatoes and stuffing require a lot of peeled and chopped vegetables. You may be tempted to peel these veggies right over the sink and then wash the scraps away, but this is bad news for your garbage disposal and pipes. Thin, stringy skins, like those of carrots, onions, and potatoes, can slide right through the garbage disposal without being ground down, and then they build up in your pipes.
2. Fibrous Vegetables
Aside from the peels and skins, larger chunks of certain vegetables can wreak havoc on your garbage disposal and plumbing as well. Fibrous vegetables, including celery, green beans, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and artichokes, become very stringy when the garbage disposal is turned on. These strings may wrap around the garbage disposal blades, causing it to jam, or build up within your kitchen pipes, leading to a clog.
3. High-Starch Foods
You may already know to avoid putting starchy foods like pasta, rice, or oats in the garbage disposal throughout the year, but the holiday season is known for some additional high-starch dishes. The starches in breads, such as the rolls served with your Christmas dinner or the breadcrumbs from your stuffing, as well as potatoes (a culprit yet again) or shortbread cookies served with dessert, expand in water. This can create a thick paste that jams your garbage disposal and blocks your pipes.
4. Bones
Turkey, ham, or prime rib might be the star of your holiday dinner. Whichever you choose, keep the bones out of your sink, and put them in the trash instead. Even small bones are difficult for the garbage disposal to break down. Large bones are especially likely to become stuck in the garbage disposal, potentially leading to a garbage disposal malfunction and the entire appliance needing to be replaced.
5. Fruit Pits
Cookies might be Santa’s dessert of choice, but fruit pies are a popular treat for many around the holidays. Whether you’re baking up a cherry, peach, plum, or apple pie, keep the pits and cores out of your garbage disposal. These items are too hard for the garbage disposal to break apart, so they may only end up getting caught in the garbage disposal or even damaging the blades.
To keep your garbage disposal and plumbing operating like they should throughout the holiday season, be sure to dispose of the food items above in the trash or compost rather than your sink. If you need garbage disposal services in the Orlando, FL area, contact JS Appliance Repair Service today.
