
Share this list of disposal mistakes with your household before the holiday crush. Just be mindful of what and how much you put in there, and read your manual. InSinkErator’s Evolution disposals can actually grind avocado pits and bones, Severson says.Īnother urban legend floating around: You shouldn’t run your disposal while the dishwasher is operating. New, more powerful and quieter disposals have advanced technology and features. Most units can now handle these foods in small batches. There are rules laid down by grandmothers generations ago: no eggshells, coffee grounds, bones, banana peels or pasta. “There are a lot of myths about what you can and can’t put in,” says Chad Severson, president of InSinkErator, a major manufacturer of disposals founded in 1938. That is why there are such wide-ranging recommendations from manufacturers and service technicians about how to safely use them. Some may be builder-grade models, others just old and worn out. Many of the disposals grinding away in homes across the land aren’t exactly state of the art.

“It’s the time your plumbing is getting a real workout.” Abrams has a file of horror stories he’s compiled from his plumbers, involving disposals clogged with whole Cornish game hens and chunks of green glass from Little Kings Cream Ale bottles. “The day after Thanksgiving is our busiest day of the year,” says Paul Abrams, spokesman for Roto-Rooter, a major provider of plumbing, sewer and drain cleaning services. The holidays, with their endless vegetable peels and plate scrapings, make this hardworking appliance, found in just over half of American homes, work overtime. Your garbage disposal is headed into crunchtime. An InSinkErator garbage disposal on the job.
