The holiday season often brings friends, family, and a kitchen that’s busier than ever. Between the holiday treats, fancy dinners, and mountain of dishes, it’s easy to forget that your garbage disposal isn’t designed to handle everything that comes off a plate.
A little extra caution now can save you from a major plumbing headache later. Before you flip that switch, here are a few foods and habits that can clog, jam, or even damage your disposal—and how to keep it running smoothly through the holidays and beyond.
1. Skip Foods That Expand
Pasta, rice, oats, and coffee grounds might seem harmless going down the drain, but they expand and turn gummy when mixed with water. Inside your pipes, that sticky mess can build up fast and block your drain. Toss these foods in the trash or compost bin instead—your pipes will thank you.
2. Keep Hard Scraps Out
Your garbage disposal isn’t built for everything. Hard foods like bones, fruit pits, nuts, and seeds can jam the blades or burn out the motor. They’re too tough for the system to grind and often bounce around until they lodge in your drain. Save yourself the repair bill and throw them in the trash or compost.
3. Watch Out for Peels, Skins, and Stringy Foods
Certain scraps act like troublemakers in disguise. Potato peels, celery, corn husks, onion skins, and turkey skin can wrap around the impellers and stop the disposal from spinning. Banana peels and carrot skins can slip through unground and clog your drain farther down the line. To avoid both, send them to the trash instead of the disposal.
4. Limit the Dairy
Cream, cheese, and other dairy products might seem soft enough for the disposal, but they can gum up the system once processed. Over time, that residue thickens and sticks to the blades and pipes. Scrape those leftovers into the trash instead of the sink—it’s an easy habit that helps everything flow better.
5. Never Pour Fats, Oils, or Grease Down the Drain
This is one of the biggest culprits behind holiday plumbing calls. Hot grease might look harmless when it’s liquid, but once it cools, it hardens inside your pipes. Bacon fat, butter, lard, and even olive oil can coat the inside of your plumbing like glue. Instead, pour leftover grease into a container, let it solidify, and toss it in the trash.
Pro Tip: Run Cold Water While the Disposal’s On
Always use cold water when you run your garbage disposal. Cold water helps fats and food particles stay solid as they move through your pipes, so they don’t stick to the walls and create buildup. Keep the water running for a few seconds after you turn off the disposal to fully flush debris out.
A Little Care Goes a Long Way
Your garbage disposal is one of the hardest-working appliances in your kitchen, especially around the holidays. Treating it right helps you avoid costly clogs, unpleasant smells, and those dreaded “sink won’t drain” moments when guests are on the way.
If you do end up with a jammed disposal or a backed-up sink, the plumbers at Black Diamond Experts are here to help. We’ll get your kitchen back in action fast—so you can focus on family, food, and everything that makes the season special.
