Halloween Pumpkin Carving Causes Garbage Disposals Clogs

Few things wreak havoc in drainpipes and garbage disposals like pumpkin guts. The slimy, stringy and sticky pulp that Americans scrape out of pumpkins every October to make Halloween jack-o-lanterns might just be the perfect material for clogging drains. For some reason, many first time pumpkin carvers are prone to carving pumpkins in their kitchen sinks so they can push the slimy guts right down the garbage disposal with minimal mess. Sounds good but it is a very bad idea! And few people make that same mistake twice.

What will it do to your plumbing?

First, pumpkin guts will choke a garbage disposal. And any pulp and seeds that get past the disposal will stick to the inside walls of the drainpipes. When the water stops running, the pulp dries and hardens like concrete. That’s right. Kitchen sinks and pumpkins are not a good match. Watch our funny Halloween video to see what we mean. Don’t even think about liquid drain cleaner. In most cases, it is powerless against pumpkin guts. No sir, your household over-the-counter defenses are useless. You’re going to need a professional drain cleaner to power through a pumpkin pulp clog. Even a plumber with all his heavy duty drain cleaning equipment may face a formidable battle to open a drain clogged with pumpkin guts. Oh, and your disposal may never be the same or it may have to be replaced.

How sticky is it?

In case you haven’t gotten the point, pumpkin pulp is so sticky that we wonder if it isn’t the secret ingredient in super glue. If they could have grown pumpkins on Gilligan’s Island, the professor could have used pumpkin pulp to patch up the SS Minnow and the skipper would have been sailing her back into Honolulu Harbor before the end of the first season. Pumpkin pulp is so sticky, you could probably use it to patch a fiberglass fender on a Corvette. Yes, it’s that sticky and it hardens that much. Do not let it near your drains, including the toilet. Ever!