Avoid These Common Kitchen Sink Mistakes To Become A Culinary Pro

Celery, asparagus, and corn may be good for your digestive system, but they’re not so good for the inner workings of your sink — especially if you have a garbage disposal. The stringy, fibrous materials clog pipes and get wrapped around the blades. At the very best, you’ll have to remove a food hairball from the drain. At worst, you'll break your disposal.

Resist the temptation to peel potatoes over the sink. Potatoes are filled with starch, which can clump into large masses that may get stuck deep inside of your plumbing. It only takes a few potatoes or stray peels for them to congeal into something gross and harmful for your pipes.

Like potatoes, pasta and rice are also high in starch. And they easily absorb water, which makes them balloon in size. If a noodle falls down the drain by accident, you’ll probably be all right, but too many at once and you may be in for a major clog!

Pouring milk in the drain won't clog it, but it does harm the environment. Breaking down dairy uses a ton of oxygen, and removing all that oxygen from an ecosystem can kill local aquatic life. When your dairy has gone bad, just dispose of it in the trash!

They're a royal pain in the butt, and it's tempting to wash them down the drain if they fall into the sink, but produce stickers don't belong in your plumbing. They can't dissolve in water, and they'll stick to your pipes. Either stick them somewhere else or throw them away.

When baking, be careful to keep that messy flour away from the sink. As stray flour mixes with water, it forms a gooey paste that will easily plug your pipes. It can also jam your garbage disposal. Save yourself a future plumbing nightmare by only mixing in the mixing bowl!

Eggshells make a great compost ingredient, and trust us: they’re better off there than down your sink. If you've heard that they sharpen your garbage disposal’s blades, we hate to tell ya, but that’s an old wives’ tale. So, if you aren’t a composter, dispose of shells in the trashcan.

Remember: your garbage disposal isn't a V8 engine, and it can't handle chopping up poultry, pork, and beef bones. They’re too difficult for the blades to mince. Instead, use the trashcan to get rid of them. Or let your dog bury them in the garden! Smaller bones such as fish bones can be safely thrown down the disposal, though.

Melted butter may look like it would run down the sink easily, but don’t forget what happens when butter gets cold: it congeals. And that means it could get clogged in your pipes. Butter doesn’t mix well with water, either, so you won’t be able to easily flush it away.

Not only is throwing uncooked meat and trimmings down the drain a complete waste, but it’s also a clog waiting to happen. Fats and oils from the meat coat the pipes, making it more difficult for water to get through. If you need to dispose of raw meat, use the trash, or compost it below ground.

When you’re carving pumpkins for Halloween, no part of your gourd should end up in the sink. The rind and other goopy parts of the pumpkin filling are too stringy to slide down the drain, and like fibrous celery, they can create a "hairball" in the pipe. Save the seeds and strings to roast in the oven for a healthy snack.

After you're done cooking your pasta, don’t dump the water. It’s not the worst for your sink, but it is full of sticky starch. We have a better use for it. Given that pasta water is an emulsifier, adding it to your sauces will make them rich and creamy. The sauce also stays on the noodles more easily, soaking them in delicious flavor.

Like bones, pits from mangoes and peaches are too rock-hard for your garbage disposal to break up. Cherry pits, apple cores, and other kinds of smaller seeds may fit down the drain...but once they start absorbing water, they expand in size, ruining your sink. No seeds, please.

Coffee grounds may be messy, but don't pour them into the sink. The dense grounds won't drain away easily with running water, and they can build up and block your pipes. Instead, use them as a natural pest deterrent in your garden or mixed in with your compost.

Never put bacon fat down the drain! Instead, pour it into something disposable, like a tin can. It's the same principle as uncooked meat scraps: when the fatty liquid cools, it hardens into a congealed mixture that blocks your pipes. Only get rid of grease in a garbage can.

Cooking tips aside, all those clogging matters are much worse if you have low water pressure. If too many appliances are using the plumbing, low water pressure will make it harder to push any clogs clear of the pipe. Avoid running the dishwasher if you're trying to clean out the pipes!

For stubborn clogs, you may need to disassemble the sink pipes, which can be frustrating if you have too much stuff crammed under your sink. Keep the space below your sink organized and uncrowded to make fixes much easier.

If your repairs go really wonky and you break a faucet, don’t use too much pressure trying to force it to turn off. The handles can snap — then you'll have a bigger problem on your hands! Instead, turn off the water main to your house, and look for the root cause to truly fix the leak.

Never get started on DIY repair before taking pictures of what you're about to fix — especially when you’re new to plumbing. This helps with the all-important task of putting everything back together once it’s fixed. Re-assembly is tricky, and those reference photos might save your sanity.

One of the easiest mistakes is forgetting to turn off the water before starting any plumbing work. Leaving it on means dealing with a mess...and you may also wind up drenched! The valve should be located near your water meter. But for those looking to get creative with home renovations, this next tip is an absolute game-changer.