Garbage disposals are bit of a misnomer. Your disposal and pipes can handle a few scraps, but a lot of people think they can grind everything up in the disposal, which is not true at all. Its best to scrape leftover food from your plate into the trash can and then rinse the remainder into the disposal. To avoid clogs, scraps should be put your garbage disposal in moderation. Here are a few things to avoid putting down your garbage disposal:

• Grease.
• Starchy items like pasta, rice, and potato peels.
• Any type of meat.
• Seeds, coffee grounds, eggshells, and popcorn kernels.
• Hard items like bones or corn cobs.
• Stringy things like celery and rhubarb.

Over time your garbage disposal will likely get a coating of gunk which can interfere with how well the disposal does its job. That gunk can also result in a foul smell. The best way to clean the disposal is to run it with a cup of ice cubes and lemon or lime slices. The ice will knock the gunk off and the lemon or lime will add some freshness and do some cleaning as well.