Coffee Grounds in the Garbage Disposal - Do or Don't

Making coffee in the morning can be a fun process if you use a french press, pour over or espresso machine. However, cleaning up the coffee grounds afterwards can be a real pain.

The fastest way to clean up coffee grounds is to rinse them down the sink. However, we do not recommend this method as it can lead to serious plumbing problems overtime.

Coffee grounds must be disposed of in the trash or composted. Do not put coffee grounds in the garbage disposal or down the sink.

Instead, dump your french press into a strainer over the sink, then empty the strainer into a garbage or compost bin. This will keep liquid out of your trash and coffee grounds out of your sink.

In general, coffee grounds will not harm your garbage disposal nor will they sharpen the blades as some internet forums suggest.

However, waterlogged coffee grounds will settle at the bottom of the trap under the sink. This can lead to problems such as slow draining or complete stoppage.

Instead, you should dump coffee grounds into a trash can or put them in a compost bin.

In fact, coffee grounds make a great addition to almost every compost pile. According to a study by Oregon State University, coffee grounds are:

• pH neutral

• Improve soil structure

• Excellent source of Nitrogen for composting

• Encourage growth of microorganisms

As you can see, using coffee grounds for compost is not only good for your garden and the environment, but it is also good for your plumbing.

Avoid rinsing your coffee grounds down the garbage disposal and instead compost them or dump them in a garbage can.