Garbage Disposals and Your Pipes

Court Lundberg • November 13, 2023
Food scraps and water pouring into a garbage disposal in a black kitchen sink.

Can garbage disposals harm your pipes? Only if used improperly. Garbage disposals are designed to work with your plumbing and usually don’t cause any harm. If used properly, they can last up to 10 years.


How a Garbage Disposal Works


Contrary to popular belief, garbage disposals do not have blades. They use impellers, or lugs that are mounted on a spinning plate to push food waste against a grind ring, which breaks down the food into tiny particles. When you run the water while running your garbage disposal, it helps to move these food particles down your pipes and out of your home. If you overfill your disposal or put the wrong things down it, it could cause problems.


What to Not Put Down Your Drain


Garbage disposals are meant to grind up the leftover food on your plates. It is not meant to act as a trash can! Here are some foods that you should avoid putting down your sink:


  • Fibrous foods such as celery or corn husks
  • Bones
  • Grease and oil
  • Pasta or rice
  • Eggshells
  • Seeds or pits


All of these things can cause your garbage disposal to become clogged or damage the disposal impellers and your pipes.


Installing a Garbage Disposal in Midvale


At Rare Breed Plumbing, we strive to provide our customers with excellent services for all your plumbing needs in Midvale, UT. We offer garbage disposal installations you can trust to be done right the first time. If your garbage disposal is clogged, leaking, or has strange odors or sounds, our plumbers can also come to repair it for you. Our motto is fast, friendly and fair plumbing, and you can trust us to provide whatever plumbing service you require. Whether it be for your garbage disposal or for your pipes, drains, sump pumps, water heaters or boilers, we have you covered!


Contact us for an appointment today!


We also provide services for garbage disposals in Sandy, UT as well as in Bluffdale!

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