Garbage disposal is actually meant to carry kitchen waste. This kitchen plumbing component has made the disposing of food bits and scraps so convenient and easy. However, it is not every kitchen waste that should go down the garbage disposal.
Food waste like fish skins, eggshells, and coffee grounds are not meant for your garbage disposal. Resist the temptation to put them there!
Some persons who do not have functional disposal may be inclined to flush remains of dinner, breakfast, and lunch down the toilet. Other people may decide not to fill up their garbage disposal with organic food matter that could release foul smell in the kitchen. Thus the toilet may be a better option for them.
But, Should You Flush Food Down The Toilet?
No. No, no!
The simple reason is that your toilet pipes that carry human waste are not wide enough to convey food waste. Remember, your toilet is meant only for water, human waste, and bio-degradable tissue paper! Food waste is potential drain-blocking materials; they do not easily disintegrate.
Although flushing a bit of food here and there may have minor consequences, a habit of flushing food waste down the toilet can be catastrophic.
Be that as it may if you're comfortable with using your toilet as a garbage disposal for kitchen waste, do it with caution. Check out the list below to know the kinds of food that shouldn't go down the toilet:
- Grains like oats, rice, and others expand when mixed in water. This expansion can block your sewer line when you flush grains down the toilet
- Hard food scraps, including apple cores, bones, and corn cobs, do not decompose easily. Having these food items down your toilet all the time can plug up your toilet drain, block your drains, and become breeding grounds for fatbergs. Worse still, they can compromise your city's wastewater treatment processes. Dispose of this waste in your trash bin!
- Starchy foods like mashed potatoes can cause a gelatinous obstruction that could slow down the flow of your sewer pipe
- Fats and oils including butter, meat fat, cooking oils and other oil-containing foods, are not friends with your drain. When fat and oil cool harden inside the sewer lines, they can potentially block your sewage flow. Not only that, they attract other debris and form fatbergs that are disastrous
Other Food Disposal Options
Flushing food waste down your toilet is bad practice and should be discouraged; however, there are other alternatives to disposing of food.
They are:
- You can save your food leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. They can serve a million other purposes
- Unwanted cooking fats and soup can be packaged in plastic cans or leak-proof bags and thrown in the trash
- Consider putting very smelly food waste like fish skins, decayed meat, and others in the freezer until the garbage haulier comes for it
- About 100% of food waste can be composted. Find out if your city supports composting and be a part of the program
Are You Having A Blocked Toilet?
Have you flushed so much food scraps down the toilet and it's causing a blockage? This is the best time to call the Emergency Plumber London for help.
A sewage backup can be life-threatening so, waste no time.
Contact any reliable plumbing company in Camden for a quick, affordable, and reliable plumbing any time, anywhere in London.