Why You Should Never Dump Pasta Down The Garbage Disposal

If you frequently make pasta at home, then you are probably already aware of some of the biggest mistakes you need to avoid with pasta, which includes dumping out the pasta water (which you should be saving to thicken and add flavor to your sauce instead). Turns out, you also need to be careful when throwing out your pasta, which is something you should never dump down your garbage disposal.

As Hunker explains, pasta can get tangled up in the blades of your garbage disposal. Pasta can also cause your pipes to clog when it hardens or when water causes it to swell up even more. Don't worry too much if a tiny bit of leftover pasta ends up down the garbage disposal. But if you ended up dumping a significant amount of pasta, Allrecipes recommends running your garbage disposal for 30 seconds, and to use cold water to avoid the pasta further expanding. If the pasta already caused a clog, Insider suggests using boiling water or a mixture of vinegar and baking soda to try to clear the clog.

There are also other things you can do with the extra pasta, besides throwing it out. First, you can try saving it for another day. Cooked pasta is good for three to five days in the fridge, according to Still Tasty. You can even freeze your cooked pasta, which will keep it good for up to two months.

You can also turn that leftover pasta into a completely different dish, if you don't want to eat the same dish with the same sauce again. If you cooked more pasta than you can use, don't add it to whatever sauce you're making, and instead, save it for another day and another dish. You can reheat the leftover pasta to use with a different sauce. The Pioneer Woman also suggests using the leftover pasta in a pasta salad or a pasta frittata. The Food Network offers additional suggestions, including using the leftover pasta in stir fried noodles, pasta bakes, muffins, pasta pies, and as extra toppings on pizza. With so many options, making too much pasta should no longer be a problem. If you find that you still have extras pasta that need to be tossed out, just remember to use the trash can instead.