Why You Should Never Put Seeds Or Fruit Pits Down The Kitchen Drain
If your kitchen sink is outfitted with a garbage disposal, chances are likely that you're accustomed to just throwing in your food scraps, flipping a switch, and letting the disposal whir your trash-related worries away. But it's not always a good idea to throw everything down there. The wrong items can break or dull your disposal's blades, or clog your disposal, requiring a sometimes-pricey repair (via Rentmeister). Hard items — such as bones, shells, and non-food items like metal or glass — are particularly dangerous to add to any garbage disposal. A few hard items you may look over and absentmindedly toss into your garbage disposal without thinking? Fruit pits and seeds.
Peach pits, pumpkin seeds, avocado pits, sunflower seeds — whatever it is, don't put pits and seeds down your kitchen drain. According to home repair pro Bob Vila, while your garbage disposal can take a beating in some instances, it really can't stand up to these hard items and they're likely to clog your sink, or dent or break your garbage disposal's blades.
Here's what to do if you've already put fruit pits or seeds in the garbage disposal
If you've already tossed a few apple cores or chia seeds into your garbage disposal and now things aren't quite working the way they should, there are a few things you can try before calling in the pros. If you suspect your garbage disposal is clogged, according to Bob Vila, you'll want to first turn off the breaker connected to your garbage disposal. Then, shine a flashlight into the disposal to see if you can spot the culprit — if so, you can use a pair of kitchen tongs or pliers to fish it out.
If that doesn't completely clear up your problem, you can use a plunger (just cover the drain with the plunger and then fill the sink with enough water to submerge said plunger and give it a few thrusts). This may dislodge whatever seed or fruit pit is clogging things up. However, if your seed or fruit pits have actually broken your garbage disposal's blades, you'll want to call in a professional to replace them, or the entire unit, if needed.