$140 Jar of Sauerkraut -- big lesson learned.

[tim Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tim]

Okay, I will start this story by admitting I made a big mistake. I dumped a big jar of leftover sauerkraut into my garbage disposal and ended up with a clogged drain. This was no ordinary clog. I worked on the drain for over 3 hours with no luck. Realizing I needed the big machine, I went to Home Depot and rented the monster. I must have fished 35 feet into the drain pipe and still no luck. Exhausted and frustrated, I called in a professional. This guy arrived with a much smaller machine than the one I rented at Home Depot. Yet, after 2 minutes, the drain was clear. In all, it cost me $140 for the jar of sauerkraut. And, it didn't even taste that great. So, I learned a big lesson here -- always eat the leftover sauerkraut!

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Is there something in particular about Kraut that caused this problem.....

I feel you pain

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Pasta did it for me, too. The plumber said never to put pasta in the sink garbage disposal - when it gets wet it will swell.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Another good reason to have a compost pile/bin.

[dioxide45 Member Find all posts View Profile Close dioxide45]

Potato peels are another thing that you don't want to put in a disposal. I don't think any of the things listed would cause problems if they were put through slowly. However putting a large quantity of any of them will cause lots of problems.

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

Ah, so true. Potato peelings will plug everything up. We have had that happen a few times and Rick told me not to run anything crazy down the disposal, including grease. He does fix it himself and now he even rents the machine and snakes the system as a preventative measure.

[chemteach Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chemteach]

Don't put any raw vegatable peelings down! I've gotten clogs with carrot peels twice. (The second time was my husband's fault.)

[Kay H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kay H]

The title of this post really got me. I was picturing a large barrell of sauerkraut

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

So what can you put down there? Sounds like all the no nos are the most likely things you'd put in the disposal unit?

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

Sydney, cute baby!

I don't put much down the disposal. I scrape most garbage into the trash can. I have a powerful disposal that we bought after the first debaucle, which I thought would fix the problem. As Rick was installing it, he was very clear that this would not solve our drain problem. He was right!

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Okay, similar situation, but not involving a garbage disposal. More like a Beagle disposal.

The $700 box of pastries............ It was our 10th anniversary and I thought I'd make a gourmet dinner at home. Did all the shopping and splurged at the fancy French bakery for a cake and small pastries. Was unloading the station wagon (back lift hatch - 240 Volvo at the time - 1990) when the phone rang. I left the hatch open to get the phone, spent 5 minutes getting my work schedule written down (was the hospital) and went back to the car. There, my little Beagle, Dixie was finishing off the box of pastries, all of them. This is a dog who could never, ever jump up into the back of the wagon for any reason, well, until that day.
A short time later, she started trembling and didn't look all that well. Took her to Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine where they diagnosed pancreatitis.
Spent the night in the ICU, two days in the wards, recheck visit at the end of the week.

Box of pastries = $30, Vet Bill= $$$670, lesson learned = priceless.

Tim, enjoyed your story and can relate !

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

So what can you put down there? Sounds like all the no nos are the most likely things you'd put in the disposal unit?

I think it's OK to put water down the disposal, as long as the water doesn't contain grease, oil, or any solids.

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

I think it's OK to put water down the disposal, as long as the water doesn't contain grease, oil, or any solids.

Ain't it the truth!

[m61376 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close m61376]

I am sure many of us have similar not so fond memories. As for me, I've learnt that when cooking for the holidays not to put down 3 or 4 dozen egg shells. With thirty+ guests coming, I had Rotor Rooter at 8:30 on a Sunday morning, and I was never so happy to part with $189. There was one huge bolus about 65 feet down the line- even the guy couldn't believe how far down the clog was.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

I am sure many of us have similar not so fond memories. As for me, I've learnt that when cooking for the holidays not to put down 3 or 4 dozen egg shells. With thirty+ guests coming, I had Rotor Rooter at 8:30 on a Sunday morning, and I was never so happy to part with $189. There was one huge bolus about 65 feet down the line- even the guy couldn't believe how far down the clog was.

I heard a statistic last year that the BUSIEST day for the Roto-Rooter man is the Friday after Thanksgiving...

After reading all your disposal tales of woe; I am glad we never have gotten around to installing one. The wiring in this house is a bit wonky so that is why we have always held out.

For the life of me I can't remember what I put down the drain at Dear Old's to clog up his...

I did however manage to totally clog the sink drainage pipe so far down that they had to cut out a length of it in the basement. Moral of the story: Don't repot orchids in the sink. Those wood chips don't agree with the plumbing at all.