Haha, the ice cube thing is definitely one of those plumbing urban legends. I've heard it a million times, and honestly, the only thing ice cubes ever did for me was make my garbage disposal sound like it was chewing gravel. Carrot peels though—yeah, they're sneaky little devils. You think they're harmless, but they band together down there and form a veggie rebellion. Eggshells surprised me too at first, but apparently they can stick to the pipes and cause buildup over time. Coffee grounds are hit or miss—some people swear by them, others end up with a caffeinated clog. Personally, I just toss them in the compost now. Trust me, your pipes will thank you...or at least they'll stop plotting revenge.
Has anyone actually had success using ice cubes though? I've mostly found them noisy and kinda pointless, but maybe they help sharpen the blades a little? Anyway, totally agree on carrot peels and eggshells—learned that lesson the hard way. And coffee grounds...I'm still skeptical. Anyone else just paranoid enough to use those little drain strainers religiously to avoid surprise plumbing "conversations"?
Ice cubes sharpening blades is a pretty common myth, actually. Garbage disposals don't have blades like a blender—they've got impellers that grind stuff up, so ice won't really sharpen anything. It might help knock loose some gunk, but honestly, running cold water regularly does about the same thing without all the racket. And yeah, coffee grounds...they seem harmless until you're pulling out a clog that looks like espresso mud. Drain strainers aren't paranoia, they're just smart plumbing.
Haha, if pipes could talk, mine would probably be yelling at me for the potato peels I fed them last Thanksgiving...lesson learned. But seriously, you're spot on about the ice cubes—I've seen folks swear by that trick, but it's mostly wishful thinking. Regular cold water flushes and a good drain strainer are your best friends. Speaking of garbage disposals, anyone ever accidentally dropped something weird down there? I once had to fish out a spoon handle...still wonder where the other half went.
Gotta disagree a bit on the ice cube skepticism. I mean, sure, they're not magic bullets or anything, but tossing a few down occasionally does help knock loose some gunk that's clinging to the blades. Not saying it'll fix a serious clog—potato peels are definitely disposal kryptonite—but it can freshen things up if you're just dealing with minor buildup.
As for weird stuff going down the disposal, I've seen it all. Once pulled out a chewed-up bottle cap that somehow made it past the strainer. Still scratching my head over that one... And about your spoon handle mystery—hate to break it to you, but the other half probably ended up in the trap or worse, stuck somewhere downstream. Might wanna keep an eye out for slow drains down the line.
