Pouring used cooking oil, other thick fats such as butter and margarine, or leftover meat down the garbage disposal can form coatings on pipes and cause clogs over time.

If some oil goes down the drain when dishes are being washed, just flush out the disposal with cold water for a minute to solidify the fat so that it can be easily chopped up.

The transparent inner membranes that appear as thin coatings on the insides of eggshells are so sticky that they can get caught on the blades or in the impeller of

your disposal.

This can lead to an impenetrable mess that can block other particles. Ground shells can also make microscopic waste that can adhere to gunk in your pipes and cause future blocks.

Banana peels average about 2.95 to 3.65 millimeters thick, which makes it hard for the disposal blades to break them down. As a result, the pieces can end up clogging the pipes.

Grinding them up is a shame anyway because they can be added to compost bins, made into fertilizer, or even smoothed on the skin to relieve itchiness and rashes.

Putting fruit pits and seeds into the garbage disposal can blunt, bend, or damage its blades beyond repair — the longer the pit spins in there, the worse the outcome will be.

While watermelon and other fruit and vegetable seeds are smaller and not as hard, they are difficult to grind up and can get stuck on drain line walls and make them back up.

Produce stickers, coffee filters, napkins, paper towels, and cleaning wipes should never make their way into garbage disposals as they can stick to the blades and

clog the pipes.

Plastic food wrappers from your leftovers and packaged meat, and other plastic items like bottle caps should be disposed of separately too as they can truly jam up your disposal.