"Nancy2" > wrote in message
...
>> > best bet was never to put food down it deliberately and to run plenty
>> > of hot
>> > water down it every day.
>
> You should never run the disposal with hot water.

No, no. Just run the hot water down the sink.
>
>>
>> My garbage disposal manual says I can put chicken bones in it.
>> If it can't handle egg shells, then it has a serious problem.
>>
>
> Not necessarily - every plumber says not to put egg shells down -
> because of the membranes that line the shells. How hard is it to wrap
> them in a paper towel and toss them in with the stuff that the garbage
> man picks up? Conversely, they are really good in compost, so start a
> compost container.

I once tried making fertilzer out of coffee grounds, tea bags and egg
shells. Killed all my house plants!
>
> Disposals: Get at least 3/4 h.p. power, or more if you can afford
> it. Run LOTS of water when you use it. If you're putting down veggie
> bits, etc., use your common sense to parse out the feed, so you aren't
> jamming big chunks of everything at once. Use LOTS of water while the
> disposal is running, and make sure you run it long enough after you're
> done putting stuff in it, to make sure the water is flushing it
> through the sewer line. Use LOTS of water. If you're peeling a bunch
> of potatoes, or carrots, or anything, put the holey stopper over the
> disposal hole in the sink, and when you're done, wrap those things in
> a big bunch and put them out with the garbage, or in a compost heap.

Okay.
>
> Once a month, fill your disposal side of the sink up with cold water
> and then pull the plug and let it drain all at once. This helps keep
> the line clear. When you use it, use LOTS of water.

I didn't know that.
>
> Once in a while, throw some ice cubes in it while it's running, and
> they will help keep the blades sharp.

That's what I thought, but the plumber told me it wasn't true.
>
> I used to have lots of clogs in my kitchen disposal side of the sink,
> but no more. And I put almost everything in it, except coffee
> grounds, egg shells and anything fibrous, like gobs of celery, etc.

Interesting.