8 Things You Should Never Put Down The Drain, According To Pros

When you're working your way through a sinkful of dirty dishes for the third or fourth time in a day, it’s understandably tempting to scrape plates and everything else into the kitchen sink. After all, the sink is right there. Despite their tempting convenience, if you want your sink to last a lifetime—or at least avoid having the plumber on speed dial—it is best to keep drains for soap, water, and smaller food scraps.

There are things that should never be washed down the sink, and if you're not sure, better safe than sorry with a massive plumbing bill. “It's better to err on the side of caution and dispose of it in the trash,” says Jeff Palla, President of Mr. Handyman, a Neighborly company.

 To find out what items are no-nos, we polled some experts to find out other items that should absolutely never go down the kitchen sink.

Oil And Grease

“Some grease will always get in your drain as you clean dishes, as it solidifies it will stick to the walls of your pipes,” says Mike Wilson of Mike Wilson Plumbing in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Instead, he recommends for safe grease disposal to “use some old plastic containers and pour it in them and dispose of in the trash.” 

Coffee Grounds

Since it’s hard to avoid getting grease in your drains (especially as a Southern cook), that makes pipes sticky, which can make coffee grounds a real problem. “Coffee grounds will stick to the grease and eventually stop up your drains,” says Wilson.

Pasta And Rice

Similarly, Wilson warns against items putting items like pasta down the drain. “Pasta even if ground up will stick to the grease and eventually stop up your drains,” he says. For similar reasons, Bill McEwen of Nuckols Plumbing in Richmond, Virginia, warns against putting rice down the pipes as it could lead to stoppages.

Stringy Vegetables

“Stringy vegetables like celery get hung in the strainer,” says McEwen. Other vegetable no-nos, include onion skins and artichokes

Eggshells

While opinions on this vary, McEwen recommends not putting eggshells down the drain to avoid eventual backups.

Vegetable Peels

“All peelings, especially potatoes, go straight to the trash can,” says Wilson.

Drano

While this seems contrary to what the package would indicate, McEwen makes a compelling argument. “No plumber wants to go to someone's home and work on a drain full of (Drano) acid,” he says. “It’s dangerous and the customer incurs additional charges if it has been used. Plus, Drano rarely works!”

Non-Food Items

“Never put non-food items such as plastic, metal, or glass in the drain,” says Palla. Wilson adds that even items billed as “flushable” should not be put down the pipes, citing old paint and so-called flushable cat litter as two of the main culprits contributing to stopped up drains.