I was cleaning out my pantry and found an old half-empty box of instant mashed potatoes, which I hadn't used for a couple of years. I washed its contents down the garbage disposal, just like I always do with any leftover food. About an hour later, I was at the sink again washing out a mug when I realized that the water was not going down the drain. It was clogged. Oh my gosh, the instant potatoes swelled up in the pipes! I tried to unstop it with a plunger but that didn't work. I had to call a plumber and on a Sunday! Well, two hundred dollars later, I learned my lesson. Be careful what you put down the garbage disposal!
By the way, this happened to me once before with collard greens. So, don't put cooked greens down the drain either!
By the way, this happened to me once before with collard greens. So, don't put cooked greens down the drain either!
OH VANNA!
I'm so sorry,
I bet you did learn a lessen and I shore had a lessen that I had to learn.
Get a load out of this: I bought a antique National cash register for a great deal on ebay and the seller never responded back to me and they weren't registered with paypal so that was a problem so I had to go in and call paypal to grt my money back and I got the money but I soooooo wanted the antique cash register.
Boy was this a lessen well learned... NEVER buy from a new or privite ebay seller again.
We all have things to learn in this life and you also had somthing to learn as well.
Just remember learn from your mistakes and try again.
Your fan: MayLyn
My goodness.. I can relate, Vanna! We think anything we pour down the drain will be out of our way but it comes back to haunt us- haha! My mom and I would do the same thing with grease left from frying something, just pour it down the drain and be done with it. Well, over time.. months maybe, the sink became clogged terribly. After calling the plumber over, we learned it was buildup of food that can thicken with time such as grease. Funny how a little mistake can cost alot of money! Thank you for sharing your experience, we know now to be careful in the future =)
I would like to add to the list of "what not to put in the garbage dissposal" Egg shells will clog and come back to haunt you also. Another is CELERY--it shredds/ and you can guess the rest. There are probably MORE, but I'll hopefully not learn-by-doing.
when you have something like that
happen again.
just take 1 cup or 2 of any vinegar and 2 big table spoons of baking soda .
put the 2 table spoons of baking soda frist then pour the vinegar it works better then any thing.run your water in what ever you want to clean . it is great for bath room sinks, tubs and kitchen sink.
and will not cost you $200> dollars
you can also clean around your kitchen with baking soda water and it will get greasy thing up easy. try it hope you like it.
I just did the same thing last week only I put a whole bag of Blackeyed peas down the drain. Oh what a mess that was . All because there was something in the bag other than the peasand it was not untill they had heated up I saw it. so they had swelled up from some cooking ..
My wife and daughter also scrap things off the plate and into the sink. I keep telling them, the garbage is just a few steps away, and to use the garbage. The sink can capture any remaining small items. In this manner you will keep your sinks cleaner, and avoid the build-up over time. Seems like a uphill battle, since if I'm not there, they will revert to their natural tendencies of using the sink. It just doesn't make sense to use the sink as a garbage, right?
What Vanna did I think is an easy mistake - just washing down a grainy substance. Many might make the same mistake. However, in hind sight, we should try to understand what will be the reaction of anything we put down the sink when it comes into contact with water. Still, if we use a garbage for its purpose, and a sink for its main purpose (to wash), then we might be able to avoid more frequent clogs.
a person is never to old to learn
Do you still like to fish, and do you go fishing?
I've learned never to put vegetable peelings down the garbage disposer. Even baking soda and vinegar won't clean that out. Once you get the gunk out (if you can) cleanser (like ajax or comet) can help clear out the remaining blockage.