Grease, oil and fat
Fats go down as liquids but harden on cool pipe walls, collecting everything else. Pour cooled grease into a can or jar and put it in the trash, and wipe pans with a paper towel before washing.
Coffee grounds and eggshells
Grounds clump and settle in traps and horizontal lines. Eggshells and tiny bits of shell can catch in the same places. Compost them or throw them away.
Rice, pasta and starchy foods
They swell with water and turn gluey. A few pieces may pass, but a bowlful will not. Scrape plates into the trash or compost before rinsing.
Fibrous and stringy vegetables
Celery, corn husks, artichokes and potato peels can wrap around disposal blades and tangle in pipes. Treat the disposal as a helper for small scraps, not as a trash can.
Products that do not belong
Medications, paint, chemicals and cat litter should never go down any drain. Use local collection programs.
If it was ever a fat, a fiber or a starch, it belongs in the trash, not the drain.
