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Can You Put Eggshells in a Garbage Disposal?

Brown eggshells on a wooden board

Garbage disposals are handy, but, unfortunately, many owners tend to think they can put anything they want into those kitchen appliances. When this happens, those garbage disposals tend to get clogged up or break on you.

To learn more about whether you can put eggshells in a garbage disposal, just continue to read our article. It has all the information you need.

Can You Put Eggshells in a Garbage Disposal?

Broken egg shells in a kitchen sink

This is a depends question. In some cases, you can put eggshells into your garbage disposal and in other cases, you can’t. The best answer would be for you to put them in one at a time and was it till the previous one has gone down the drain before adding the next one.

If you do not wait, then, you could clog up your disposal or the drain causing you some repair headaches. There is some good news in all of this. The eggshells are not the real problem for you.

The real problem is the slender membrane coating that is between the shell and the egg. It does not grind up very well like the eggshell well and it can stick to your pipes, the blades, and other parts of the garbage disposal.

Hands extending from polka dot sleeves removing the membrane from an egg shell

When this happens the membranes build up and create clogs or get in the way of the disposal’s duties. The membranes will block those spaces the food items and water need to go through to be mulched and drained. Once that clog appears, you will have a mess to clean up.

Then you may be under the impression that eggshells will sharpen the disposal’s blades. While some scouring action may occur, the disposal does not have blades like a blender. That means the eggshells really won’t sharpen the blades inside the disposal.

Those eggshells will add to the clog inside the appliance or your drain and you would have to use different cleaning methods to get the clog removed. If the clog is in the drain, you would have to remove the disposal and use a plumber’s snake to get the clog removed.

If you really need to get rid of the eggshells, you can either throw them away in the garbage or compost them. Either way saves you a lot of headaches.

Some Final Words

Variety of brown and white eggs in a small wicker basket sitting on hay on wooden barn floor

If you want your drains and garbage disposal to last a long time, it is best to follow the above instructions. There are some healthy items that garbage disposals are not made to handle. These are just two of them.

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