Brewing coffee at home, especially as part of your daily routine, is beneficial to your mental health. But have you ever asked yourself – can you flush coffee grounds down the toilet?
Flushing these grounds in the toilet may cause more trouble over time, so the practice is not advised. They may settle in the drain pipes and cause plumbing problems. Coffee grounds can also discolor your toilet bowl and seat.
Are you thinking of flushing your coffee grounds down the toilet? Read this article first before you end up doing something that you will regret later on.
Can You Flush Coffee Grounds Down the Toilet
The trash is your safer option when throwing away coffee grounds. However, there are better alternatives to utilize them in more productive and environment-friendly ways. While it can be tempting, you must never practice flushing these small particles in the toilet or even in the kitchen sink.
These grounds retain their attributes and gritty form in the water. They don’t break down. If you keep adding coffee grounds in your pipes, they will form a build-up over time. They will combine with other wastes in the toilet. In the kitchen sink, they will stick with stuff, such as eggshell membranes and FOG.
Build-up leads to immense clogging that cannot be resolved on your own and will prompt you to pay for plumbing services. They can even damage your septic tank and cause significant issues, which means more money to spend on the repair.
Some people throw their coffee grounds in the garbage disposal and flush them in the toilet because they believe they help eliminate foul odors, but they don’t. Actually, it’s the opposite since they can cause a stinky smell when you allow them to build up in your pipes.
How to Dispose of Coffee Grounds
Certain localities provide bins exclusively for food wastes considered compostable, including coffee filters and coffee grounds. The government or private companies may provide them. They give people bins where they dispose of coffee grounds along with other compostable waste. Once the container is filled, the provider picks it up and replaces it with a new one.
The task of putting your coffee grounds in the bin after every cup can be a monotonous task – especially if you drink as much as i do! You can get coffee grounds knock box (Amazon link), this is a handy way to dispose of used coffee grounds or even store them to be used in one of my 5 useful used coffee ground hacks (see the bottom on page)
You can ask around or search online if this kind of service is available in your place and ask about the requirements. On the other hand, you can also try making your own compost pile if you can’t find a curbside composting service in your area.
The nitrogen-rich coffee grounds make excellent green matter to your compost. Put them on the soil, spread them all over, and cultivate the soil. You can also add 1/3 coffee grounds to a compost pile and layer them with 1/3 fresh grass clippings and 1/3 leaves.
You can store unused coffee grounds in a trash container for future use in the compost. They don’t go bad, so you can leave them in the container until the next time you do your compost.
Do Coffee Grounds Break Down
Coffee grounds do not dissolve or break down in the water, but they do in the soil. So you can put and mix them directly into the ground and mix it with a nitrogen fertilizer. Microorganisms will work to break down the coffee grounds. The latter is responsible for encouraging the growth of microorganisms in the soil. As the process happens, the nitrogen fertilizer you’ve added to the soil will promote growth and provide nutrients to your plants.
What to Do with Coffee Grounds – 5 Tips
There are many productive ways to reuse coffee grounds, you can even reuse coffee grounds to make another cup – Some of the other more creative ways include the following:
Remove hair products residues
The rough texture of coffee grounds makes it easier to remove the sticky residues on your hair. It’s more hassle-free than using apple cider vinegar, which needs lots of rinsing to remove the odor.
Simply put the coffee grounds in a jar. Then, mix some of the grounds in your hair product when taking a shower and wash your hair as usual. The residues will stick to the coffee grounds as you massage the hair product all over your scalp and tresses. This will leave your hair feeling smooth and clean.
Use coffee grounds in making homemade candles
Coffee grounds make a good alternative to aromatic oils in making candles. It has a mild, neutral scent that can be calming and relaxing. They make the final products smell like authentic candles, and they also look aesthetic when arranged in layers.
Use as a body scrub
Coffee grounds make great exfoliators with their acidic properties and gritty texture. Put three tablespoons of coffee grounds in a mason jar. Mix them with a tablespoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of natural oil, such as almond, grapeseed, or coconut oil. The mixture does an excellent job in exfoliating your skin and making it look smoother, although it doesn’t have any scent.
Use to repel pests
Many bugs hate the intense aromas and acids of coffee grounds.
- Mix the grounds with the water you use in washing your pets. This will instantly make the fleas leave your pets alone.
- Spread some grounds on the soil in the garden to keep the slugs and snails at bay.
- Spread around the grounds at areas of your house that ants typically use to venture inside.
- Fix furniture scratches
Aside from being non-toxic, coffee grounds can easily fix lightly-colored scratches on your furniture. Place the right amount of grounds in a container and add enough water to make them moist. Next, use a q-tip to scoop a mixture and dab it on the affected areas of the furniture. Leave to dry and marvel at the results.
Final Thoughts
Can you flush coffee grounds down the toilet? Yes, but you should not do it. If you do, you might damage your toilet, or worse, your plumbing system, which is very costly to fix. But, the good news is that there are several alternatives that you can try to dispose of coffee beans properly.
