Keep grease, turkey drippings, potato peels, stringy vegetables, bones, coffee grounds, eggshells, and rice, pasta or stuffing out of the garbage disposal on Thanksgiving. Each one coats the pipe, turns to paste, wraps around the moving parts, or swells in water. Scrape these scraps into the trash and grind only small, soft leftovers.
Fats, oils, grease and turkey drippings do the most damage, and running the disposal does not help. The North Texas Municipal Water District warns that grease hardens in household pipes and that “food scraps from the garbage disposal can make the problem worse.” Pour drippings into a can and let them set, as the guide on why hot water does not wash grease away explains.
Potato peels release starch that grinds into a thick paste. Celery, onion skins, corn husks and leftover pumpkin pulp from Halloween are fibrous, so the strands wrap around the spinning parts instead of breaking up. Rice, pasta and bread stuffing keep soaking up water and swell in the trap. Coffee grounds and eggshell bits settle as sludge. Turkey bones are too hard to grind and can jam the unit, leaving it humming but not turning.
Scrape plates into the trash before rinsing, run cold water whenever the disposal is on, and feed it a handful at a time. Do not grind every guest’s plate at once, since a big load can pack the drain faster than water carries it away.
One honest limit: a disposal that spins freely does not prove the drain is clear. Scraps that pass the grinder can settle farther down the kitchen line and build into a clog days later. If the kitchen sink keeps backing up after the holiday, the line itself needs drain cleaning, not more grinding.