With Thanksgiving just over a week away, you will likely be doing a lot of cooking and cleaning in your kitchen. What should and shouldn’t you put down your garbage disposal when cleaning up after enjoying the tasty meal?

Carter’s My Plumber’s Kelson Carter shares the Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to your garbage disposal: 

DO’S
• The Turkey: It’s okay to put small chunks of turkey down the drain. Meat doesn’t cause a buildup.
• Sweet Potato Casserole: It is safe to put the left-over veggies down the garbage disposal as long as they are peeled. The insides are not harmful to the inner workings of a garbage disposal. 
• Apple Sauce/Cranberry Sauce: sauces are fine to put down the garbage disposal as long as there aren’t any peels in the sauce. Since the cranberries are so smashed up the sauce is safe. 

DON’TS
• The Stuffing: usually there is celery in stuffing- celery is very fibrous and the strands will jam the glades of the garbage disposal
• Turkey Grease: Grease hardens when it gets poured down the drain. This will cause your garbage disposal to jam. 
• Grandma’s Homemade Noodles: Noodles expand when they get wet (even when cooked) so this will fill your garbage disposal trap.
• Sweet Potato Casserole Prep: Potato peels turn to soup when ground in the garbage disposal and will eventually ruin your garbage disposal.
• Egg Shells: There is a lot of toss up over egg shells down the drain- the membrane of the eggshell can get caught around your garbage disposal blades causing a jam.
• Bones: The bones will not grind – they will go straight to the pipes.Next, if you happen to have a clogged garbage disposal, there are ways you can combat the problem yourself: 
1. Look for the Allen wrench that is normally taped to the side of the disposal. 
2. Plunger method: grab a CLEAN plunger, and fill up the side of the sink that is not clogged about half way, and put in the stopper. In the side that is clogged, you can begin to plunge with enough force to get whatever is blocking your pipes out! Once that happens, your water should drain like normal. 
3. Smelly sink: Bio Clean! This is something sold at Carter’s My Plumber and is sold to mainly licensed plumbers. 

Remember, to NEVER put your hand in the garbage disposal! If you have to, turn off the disposal and use a pair of tongs. 

Also keep in mind that the garbage disposal is meant for what didn’t get scraped off into the trash!

Go to www.cartersmyplumber.com for more information, and follow Carter’s My Plumber on Instagram & Facebook: @CartersMyPlumber. 

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