Dex Handyman – Your Trusted Las Vegas Home Repair Experts
When your garbage disposal is working, it’s easy to forget how much you rely on it—until it jams, clogs, or quits altogether. At Dex Handyman, we help homeowners across Las Vegas keep their kitchens running smoothly, and one of the most common service calls we get is a clogged or damaged disposal.
To help you avoid unnecessary repairs, here are the top 10 things you should NEVER put down your garbage disposal—and why.
1. Grease, Oils & Fats
These cool into thick sludge that coats your pipes and causes stubborn clogs. Always wipe or scrape grease into the trash instead.
2. Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds compact like wet sand and create solid, pipe-blocking buildup. They belong in the trash or compost bin, not your disposal.
3. Eggshells
The internal membrane can wrap around the grinder and jam the motor. Contrary to popular belief, eggshells do not sharpen disposal blades.
4. Potato Peels
The starch turns into a glue-like paste that slows down grinding and blocks pipes—especially in older Las Vegas homes with narrow drain lines.
5. Rice & Pasta
These foods keep expanding with water and form sticky clumps inside the disposal chamber and plumbing.
6. Fibrous Vegetables
Celery, corn husks, asparagus, and artichoke leaves have stringy fibers that tangle around moving parts and cause jams.
7. Bones
Your disposal can handle scraps—not bones. Even small ones can dull blades, strain the motor, or cause complete failure.
8. Fruit Pits & Large Seeds
Avocado pits, peach pits, and similar items are too dense to grind and can stall your disposal instantly.
9. Onion Skins
The thin outer layer slips past the blades and wedges inside your pipes, leading to hidden clogs and persistent smells.
10. Non-Food Items
Paper towels, packaging materials, plastic, metal twist ties—if it isn’t food waste, it should never go in the disposal.
Pro Tips from Dex Handyman
- Run cold water before, during, and after using your disposal. It keeps fats solid and easier for the blades to break down, helping prevent clogs and odors.
- Ice Ice Baby– fill disposal with ice, run hot water to the side of the opening about pencil thin, activate disposal until the ice is chopped, then run hot water on full blast. Don’t be scared if you see sediment and debris on the other side of the sink. It might also smell. Turn off the disposal and continue to run the hot water on both sides to melt the ice slush and clear the debris.
Need Garbage Disposal Repair in Las Vegas?
If your disposal is humming, stuck, leaking, or not draining, Dex Handyman is here to help. We offer fast, reliable garbage disposal repair, installation, and kitchen plumbing services throughout the Las Vegas Valley—often with same-day appointments.
Call Dex Handyman today and keep your kitchen running the way it should.
