Can You Put Coffee Grounds In The Garbage Disposal?

After seeing your disposal in action, it’s easy to assume that it could handle just about anything you throw its way. While it can handle many different food items, like food scraps, cooked meat, small bones, and even fruit pits, there’s one that you should always avoid putting down the disposal: coffee grounds.

There’s a lot of debate on whether or not coffee grounds are a safe item for the disposal, so we’re here to set the record straight. As soon as you’re done with that morning French Press or Mr. Coffee pot, dump those grounds in the trash and not in the sink. 

Should You Put Coffee Grounds In The Garbage Disposal?

Contrary to common belief, your kitchen's garbage disposal is not a trash can. Treating it like one can get you - and your plumbing bills - in a lot of trouble.

While a few grounds probably won’t cause too many problems, repeatedly dumping your leftover Pike Place or Sumatran Blend coffee can eventually cause build-up and clogging.

Even though those coffee grounds might look completely harmless, especially compared to some other foods that this appliance can handle, they are not, and The Spruce explains why perfectly in its guide to what not to put in a garbage disposal:

Many people will still argue the opposite, though, especially since coffee grounds smell nice and can mask the odors of unpleasant food items. But since they don’t decompose fast and they build up even faster, eventually coffee grounds will clog a garbage disposal, and you’ll be left calling your local plumber.

What to Do When Coffee Grounds Were Put In Garbage Disposal?

Of course, accidents happen, and sometimes we just get forgetful while moving between dishwashers, refrigerators, and the kitchen sink. In other words, it’s pretty much inevitable that coffee grounds will be dumped in the sink at one point or another.

You now know what kind of harm coffee grinds in garbage disposal machines can cause, but the good news is that all is not lost if grinds end up where they shouldn’t be. If this is your first offense, just stay calm. Chances are dumping one batch of grounds won’t cause any damage.

Never stick your hand down the disposal - that’s rule #1. It’s a good idea to run the kitchen faucet with hot water to try to push the grounds through to safety and prevent clogging. Unfortunately, the hot water won’t actually dissolve it (unless you’re drinking instant coffee), but it can help to loosen things up and push them through.

If you’re a multiple-time offender and reading this after dumping grounds religiously in the disposal, you might start to notice a few things that should not be happening, like:

If you’ve reached this point, you might consider first trying a snake or a plunger for DIY unclogging. This doesn’t always do the trick, so if that’s the case, you’ll have to call a professional plumber to handle more severe clogs.

How Do You Best Dispose of Coffee Grounds?

There are many ways to get rid of those grounds, and some of them can actually turn into a fun hobby. Before just dumping your old grounds in the trash can, here are a few more ideas for getting rid of them safely:

FAQs

How do you get a bad smell out of garbage disposal?

Some people will tell you that coffee grounds down the garbage disposal will help, and it probably would, but that’s a sure-fire way to clog your drain. There are other less harmful ways to get rid of bad smells, like using peels from citrus fruit (lemon works great), flushing the disposal with baking soda and white vinegar, or using specialty products made for cleaning the disposal.

What can I clean my garbage disposal with?

We’ve already mentioned a few ways, like grinding up softened lemon peels. Another natural way of doing things is to use baking soda and vinegar. Before you begin, you should disconnect the power, then clean the splash guard and remove visible food scraps.

The final step is to pour in ½ cup baking soda, let it sit for about an hour, follow it up with a full cup of white vinegar, then flush it out with some hot water. There are a few more cleaning methods, but this is definitely one of the most popular among homeowners.

Can I put bleach in my garbage disposal?

Yes, it’s perfectly safe to use bleach to clean your garbage disposal. WikiHow says that “bleach is very effective at killing germs and will quickly freshen up your drain. However, you don't want to use too much of it as it can also harden any grease in your disposal unit, making it difficult to remove.”

To use bleach for cleaning, strongly dilute about a tablespoon of bleach with a gallon of water, slowly pour it in the disposal, let it sit for 1-2 minutes, then let the hot water run to flush it through.

What other common items should not be put in a garbage disposal?

Aside from coffee grounds, there are a few more things to avoid putting in the disposal, including:

Luckily, there are a lot of food items you can dispose of, even hard foods like peach pits and corn cobs.

Can you put coffee grounds down the sink?

This question is along the same lines as putting coffee grounds down the disposal. Whether you put grounds down the sink directly or run them through your high-end garbage disposal, you’re setting yourself up for a clog in the drain. 

Conclusion

Hopefully, we were able to clear up the coffee grounds-garbage disposal debate. Now you know that the answer to the age-old question, "Can you put coffee grounds down the garbage disposal?" To recap, the answer is no, and it's because those grounds will eventually build up and clog your drains.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to safely dispose of coffee grounds, like making fresh coffee-flavored body scrubs, using it as a plant fertilizer, or adding it to your compost. Or, you could simply dump it in the trash can, but where’s the fun in that?!