Mountain Man Plumbing / The kitchen drainSandy · Salt Lake Valley

Food & everyday care

Scrape first.
Grind the little leftovers.

Small scraps left after scraping a plate are the useful job for a disposal. Large loads, grease and hard objects create trouble in the grinder or farther along the drain. Use the food guide below to see where common kitchen waste belongs.

Shop disposals →Book a repair (385) 766-8935

From our repair log / West Valley CityThe disposal. The drain. The whole connection. ↗

Scrape first / grind the little leftovers

Does it go
in the disposal?

A disposal handles small scraps left after clearing a plate. Large loads, grease and stringy waste make more work for the grinder and the drain.

Find a food or item

Small amounts

Small, soft food scraps

Soft bits left after scraping the plate can be fed gradually with cold running water. Remove bones and packaging first.

Keep out

Grease, oil & fat

Cool grease in a container and put it in the trash. It coats and builds up inside drain pipes.

Trash or compost

Potato peels & fibrous scraps

Peel piles and stringy scraps can pack the outlet or collect in the drain. Scrape them into the trash or an accepted compost stream.

Scrape it out

Rice, pasta & dough

Sticky, starchy masses can collect in the trap and branch drain. An entire pan of leftovers belongs in the trash or accepted compost.

Trash or compost

Coffee grounds & eggshells

Grounds and shell fragments add settling solids to the drain. Eggshells do not sharpen the grinding parts.

Keep out

Bones, pits & hard shells

Large bones, fruit pits and hard shells can jam or damage the mechanism. Put them in the trash.

Never grind

Utensils, glass & packaging

Hard objects can be thrown or damage the unit. Switch off and disconnect power before retrieval; use tongs for visible loose objects.

Keep out

Drain cleaner & chemicals

Avoid caustic drain openers and household chemicals in the disposal. Use a disposal cleaner permitted by the unit’s manufacturer.

How disposal use affects a sewer or septic tank ↓

01 / Food & everyday care

A simple routine after a meal

Scrape the bulk of the food into the trash or an accepted compost collection. Start a steady stream of cold water, turn the disposal on and feed the remaining small scraps gradually.

Let it finish grinding. Switch the unit off, then keep cold water running briefly to carry the particles along the drain.

Keep utensils out of the sink opening while it runs. Disconnect the power before inspecting the chamber or cleaning around its opening, and keep hands out of the grinding chamber.

02 / Food & everyday care

Clean where the food film collects

The underside of the rubber baffle and upper chamber can hold food residue. With power disconnected, clean the accessible surfaces with a long-handled brush and a cleaner the manufacturer permits. Remove a baffle only if that design is removable.

Regular flushing helps carry loosened residue away. Citrus scent can cover an odor briefly, but the trapped food film still needs cleaning.

Avoid chemical drain openers. Persistent sewer odor after cleaning can mean a trap, drain or vent problem that deserves a closer look.

03 / Food & everyday care

Give the drain less food to carry

Salt Lake City Public Utilities asks households to scrape plates and avoid grinding food into the sewer. That keeps food solids and grease out of collection pipes.

On a septic system, food scraps add solids to the tank. EPA recommends eliminating or limiting disposal use; added food solids can increase pumping needs.

Compost the materials your local program accepts, and put the rest of the bulk food waste in the trash. The disposal can stay available for small incidental scraps.

Good questions

Disposal service, explained.

Do eggshells sharpen the disposal?

No. The unit has swivel lugs and a grind ring, with no kitchen-knife blades to sharpen. Put eggshells in the trash or accepted compost rather than adding their grit to the drain.

Link to this answer

Can I pour grease in with hot water?

Keep grease out of the drain. Hot water can move it away from the sink before it cools and collects farther along the piping. Let it cool in a container and put it in the trash.

Link to this answer

Is hot dishwater a problem?

Use cold water while grinding scraps. Ordinary hot dishwater can drain through the disposal between grinding periods.

Link to this answer

Let’s get the kitchen moving again