Garbage disposals work hard to make our lives easier with a flip of a switch, but the name “garbage” disposal can be misleading. It does not mean you should treat your disposal like a garbage can. Any non-food items including paper or plastic can spread through your drainage system and deposit into your local water supply. If something isn’t biodegradable, it shouldn’t go down the disposal.

Improper disposal (pun intended) can lead to major plumbing problems down the road. Save yourself worry and money by learning what not to put in a garbage disposal. If you are not sure, throw it away. And always run cold water before, during and after use. Ice cubes and a little vinegar every so often (with the cold water running) will help keep odors in check.

1. Coffee Grounds: Although coffee ground look like they are finely milled, they are actually very densely packed and almost paste-like when you take them out of a filter. Put that down your garbage disposal and you can end up with a pile up of gunky sediment in your drain, increasing the likelihood of a clog.

2. Eggshells: There’s a commonly held misconception that eggshells can help to sharpen the “blades” of your garbage disposal. But the truth is, garbage disposals don’t have blades but impellers that are more blunt than sharp. These impellers grind food waste down, rather than chopping it up like a blender. Eggshells have membranes that can easily get wrapped around the grinder. This can create a whole host of problems for your appliance.

3. Potato peels: When potato peels are ground up they turn into a starchy paste in your disposal. If this paste makes its way into the pipes, you can have major blockages down the road. The same goes for other starchy vegetables and beans.

4. Fibrous or Stringy Fruits and Vegetables:Many fruits and veggies have fibrous strands that can tangle around your disposal’s grinder. The most common ones are celery, asparagus, banana peels, corn husks, and rhubarb. Throw them away instead.

5. Onion Layers: While chopped onions can easily go down the disposal, it’s the outermost layer you need to watch out for. The membrane that lies just beneath the dry can get wedged in the drain and act as a net, trapping other items in place with it.

6. Pasta, Rice, Cereal and Bread: All absorb water and expand, which can easily lead to a clogged drain. Don’t make a habit of dumping pasta into the disposal either. If you do run pasta, rice, or bread down the disposal, run it for at least 30 seconds, and make sure to run cold water down the drain to flush the grains down without expanding them. The same goes for any other grain that will absorb water.

7. Animal Bones: The garbage disposal is simply not built to grind up exceptionally hard items. Bones are one of the hardest naturally occurring substances out there, and they can significantly shorten the lifespan of your disposal. Anything larger than a small fish bone will simply spin around your disposal and damage its grinding mechanisms.

8. Nuts and Shells: Like bones, nuts, and shells (including seafood shells) can be very damaging to your garbage disposal. You know what you get when you grind and mash peanuts? A thick peanut paste that can easily clog up your drain. Make peanut butter instead.

9. Pits and Seeds: If you can’t cut it with a knife, it’s safe to say putting it down the disposal is not a good idea, pits and seeds included. They are hard to grind up and make a racket bouncing around your disposal. Throw them in the trash.

10. Grease, Oil, and Fat: The tricky thing about grease, oil, and fats is they may look like liquid now, but they don’t stay that way for long. These materials will congeal with time, which can cause a major blockage in your drain. It’s best to simply allow these substances to cool and congeal, and then dispose of them in trash.