Garbage disposers are meant to “dispose” of small particles of food, like the kind you would wash off of used dishes. Expecting the disposer to grind up leftovers, cooking oils, including bacon grease, high starch items, coffee grounds, eggshells, or other food peelings overwork the disposer, causing it to fail sooner than expected. Tossing those items regularly down your kitchen drain will also cause it to clog more frequently, requiring regular drain cleaning services and over time can even compromise your drain line causing more costly complications and repairs. Avoiding tossing these items down the kitchen sink will help to keep your drain lines and disposer in peak working condition. Also, make sure to always run water when running your disposer, and then let the water run for a few seconds after turning off the disposer.