What Not to Put Down Your Garbage Disposal

(Especially During Thanksgiving)

Thanksgiving is one of the best times of the year for gathering with family and enjoying good food. But it's also one of the busiest times for plumbers.

In fact, the day after Thanksgiving is often called "Brown Friday" because of the number of clogged drains and broken disposals that homeowners experience. Between all the food prep, cleaning, and leftover scraps, it's easy for the garbage disposal to take a beating.

If you're hosting this year, a little care goes a long way. Knowing what not to put down your disposal can save you from a major plumbing headache when your sink suddenly stops draining. Below are some simple, practical tips to help you keep your drain pipes and sewer line clear while still enjoying your feast.

Why Garbage Disposals Struggle During the Holidays

A garbage disposal is a great tool for handling small amounts of food waste, but it's not built to handle everything. Inside the unit, metal impellers spin food scraps against a grind ring to break them down.

During Thanksgiving, these systems get overloaded from too much use. Between cooking, rinsing, and cleaning up after big meals, it's easy to overwhelm the disposal and cause clogs.

The biggest problem comes from fats and grease, starchy foods, and fibrous foods that build up and block the flow of water. Add in things like coffee grounds, potato peels, or onion skins, and you have the perfect recipe for a backed-up sink. Understanding which items cause trouble helps you use the disposal safely and extend its life.

What Not to Put Down Your Garbage Disposal: 5 Items to Avoid

1. Fats, Oils, and Grease

Hot grease might look harmless when you pour it down the drain, but once it cools, it hardens. That sticky residue clings to the sides of your drain pipes and builds up over time.

During Thanksgiving, there's plenty of animal fat from turkey, bacon, and gravy that shouldn't go anywhere near your sink. The same goes for butter-heavy sauces or oily dressings.

Instead of rinsing it away, pour it into a jar or can and let it cool. Once it solidifies, throw it in the trash. Even a few tablespoons of fats and grease can cause a major clog down the road. When grease and starchy residue combine in your drain lines, they create stubborn clogs that require professional drain cleaning services to remove.

2. Fibrous or Stringy Foods

Certain vegetables are tough on your disposal. Their long, stringy fibres can tangle around the impellers, making it hard for them to spin. Think of corn husks, celery, onion skins, and pumpkin guts.

Around Thanksgiving, these often end up in the sink while preparing stuffing or carving pumpkins.

The best way to deal with these is simple: toss them in the trash or add them to your compost pile. It keeps the disposal blades spinning freely and your sewer line safe from blockages. If fibrous materials do make it down and create a clog, professional drain cleaning can clear these blockages before they cause serious backups in your main line.

3. Starchy Foods and Peels

Foods that swell with water are another major culprit. Starchy foods like mashed potatoes, potato peels, rice, and pasta turn into a glue-like paste when ground up.

Once that paste hits your drain, it sticks to the walls and traps other food scraps, eventually forming a clog.

If you're peeling potatoes or scooping stuffing, scrape those leftovers into the trash instead. You can rinse the plate afterwards with cold water to help flush away smaller particles safely.

4. Bones and Skins

While it's tempting to toss a few turkey bones or scraps down the disposal, even small bones can damage the internal parts. Hard materials, like bones or thick poultry skin, are too tough to grind and can wear out the impellers over time.

The disposal is made to handle soft foods, not heavy, rigid pieces of meat.

Throw leftover bones, fat trimmings, and skins in the trash. It's a quick habit that prevents unnecessary repair calls later.

5. Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells, and Seeds

Many people think coffee grounds and egg shells help clean the disposal, but that's actually a misconception. Coffee turns into a thick, muddy sludge that sits in the drain. Egg shells break apart, and the thin membrane inside them sticks to the pipes.

Add fruit pits or pumpkin seeds to the mix, and you'll have a stubborn blockage before you know it.

A better idea is to compost these items or throw them away. If you like keeping your sink fresh, run a few small citrus fruits through occasionally. They'll leave a clean scent without harming your disposal.

What's Okay in Small Amounts

Not everything needs to go in the trash. Small portions of soft food waste, like cooked vegetables or tiny bits of leftover stuffing, can go down, as long as you use plenty of cold water.

The cold water keeps any fats solid so the disposal can grind them into small particles that flush through your pipes. Hot water would melt grease, allowing it to flow down the drain and re-solidify further along, creating clogs.

Always turn on the water before and after using your disposal. Let it run for about fifteen seconds after grinding to clear the line. A quick rinse with dish soap also helps break down residue and keeps your kitchen smelling clean.

Simple Tips to Avoid a Holiday Clog

Hosting family means your kitchen will see extra action, so a few habits can prevent plumbing problems:

Scrape plates first. Clear food scraps into the trash before rinsing.
Use a sink strainer. It catches stray potato peels, onion skins, or bones that slip through.
Feed the disposal slowly. Don't pack everything in at once.
Run cold water after each use. It helps flush the system properly.
Know when to call a pro. If your disposal hums but doesn't grind, or if the water backs up, turn it off and contact a plumber for assistance.

For more preventive maintenance guidance throughout your home, check out our complete plumbing tips guide.

If you're in the Charlotte area, Pathmaker Plumbing is always ready to help. Whether it's clearing clogged drain lines or addressing slow drains caused by disposal misuse, our licensed plumbers can restore your kitchen's functionality quickly. We specialize in drain repair for all types of blockages and backups.

Keeping Your Thanksgiving Stress-Free

Thanksgiving should be about good food and family, not fighting a clogged sink. Most problems start with simple mistakes, like pouring hot grease, grinding fibrous foods, or overloading the disposal with leftovers.

With a few easy habits and a little awareness, you can avoid trouble and keep your plumbing in good shape.

If you ever run into disposal issues, slow drains, or gurgling sinks, don't wait. Contact Pathmaker Plumbing at (704) 733-7507. We help Charlotte homeowners keep their kitchens running smoothly so they can focus on what matters most—enjoying the holidays with family and friends.

FAQs: Common Questions About Garbage Disposals

Can I put food down the garbage disposal?

Small amounts of soft food waste are fine, but many common items cause clogs. Avoid putting fats, oils, grease, fibrous vegetables like celery and corn husks, starchy foods like potato peels and rice, bones, coffee grounds, and egg shells down your disposal.

These materials either don't break down properly or create sticky residue that blocks drain pipes. Scraping plates into the trash before rinsing is the safest approach.

What happens if you put grease down the garbage disposal?

Grease appears liquid when hot, but solidifies as it cools inside your drain pipes. This creates a sticky coating that traps food particles and builds up over time, eventually causing complete blockages.

Even small amounts of grease can contribute to major clogs in your sewer line that require professional drain cleaning. Always dispose of cooking fats, oils, and grease in a container and throw them in the trash once solidified.

How do you unclog a garbage disposal drain?

If your disposal drain is clogged, first turn off the unit and check for visible blockages. Never put your hand inside the disposal. For minor clogs, try using a plunger designed for sinks.

For persistent clogs or slow drains, contact a professional plumber—forcing the issue can damage your disposal or worsen the blockage. Professional drain cleaning equipment can clear stubborn clogs safely without damaging your plumbing system.

Can eggshells go in a garbage disposal?

No, eggshells should not go in your garbage disposal. While the shells themselves may seem harmless, the thin membrane inside sticks to drain pipes, and the shell fragments can accumulate with other debris to form clogs.

The common belief that eggshells "sharpen" disposal blades is a myth—disposals use blunt impellers, not sharp blades. Throw eggshells in the trash or add them to your compost pile instead.

What ruins a garbage disposal?

Common disposal-damaging items include bones and hard materials, fibrous vegetables like celery and corn husks, grease and fats, starchy foods like potato peels and rice, coffee grounds, and hard objects like fruit pits. These items either jam the impellers, create drain blockages, or cause excessive wear on the grinding mechanism.

Additionally, running the disposal without water, putting too much food in at once, or using hot water with greasy foods can all contribute to disposal problems and drain clogs.