Eggs are one of the most popular and easy-to-cook food items. However, sometimes you may want to dispose of an expired raw egg. But, can you throw it down the sink?
You should never throw raw eggs down the sink since the eggshells may clog the sink. Alternatively, find other ways to dispose of your eggs, such as garbage disposal, composting, or simply throwing the raw egg in the trash.
By the end of this article, you’ll know what happens when you throw raw eggs down the sink, dispose of raw eggs properly, and detect whether an egg is rotten.
What Can Happen If You Throw Raw Eggs Down the Sink?
You can throw yolks or whites down the sink, although we strongly advise against it. However, it would be best never to throw eggshells down the sink.
If you throw the egg whites and yolk down the sink, ensure you follow it up with enough water to ensure that no traces remain in your sink.
Also, clean the sink with a small amount of soap or cleanser to avoid contaminating the next item placed in your sink.
The yolk and white can solidify and clog the drain when raw eggs are thrown down the sink.
On the other hand, eggshells shatter into small fragments that stick to the pipes’ inside, blocking them rapidly.
How Should You Dispose of Raw Eggs?
The following are three methods for disposing of raw eggs:
Garbage Disposal
Garbage disposal is the best and most prevalent way to throw away raw eggs. Crack your raw eggs and discard the inside contents in the garbage
The procedure is particularly advantageous when dealing with significant quantities of eggs. Remember that you should not throw out the eggshells together with the remainder of the contents.
The reason for this is the majority of garbage disposals have dull impellers rather than blades incapable of shattering the shells. It creates room for the shell membrane to encircle the impellers, causing damage.
Trash
This procedure is only applicable for a few raw eggs. Throw them in the same garbage container as the rest of your food waste.
Composting
Composting raw eggs are a healthy and safe way to dispose of eggs because eggs are organic matter.
If you’re going to dispose of the egg’s contents using the garbage disposal, at the very least, compost the shells.
Due to conflicting information concerning the safety of composting eggs at home, the best option to compost eggs is to use your local government’s drop-off location or to place them in your garbage can.
However, if you have a compost pile, you can follow the steps below:
STEP 1: Dig a 2-inch-deep pit
STEP 2: Throw the raw eggs
STEP 3: Arrange a board over the area and secure it with a heavyweight.
Composting the eggs in this manner is not dangerous but ensure you keep the compost pile out of reach of animals and children since it gets acidic over time.
Due to the size and heat of eggs, they degrade and sterilize virtually everything that has been combined with the green garbage.
How Should You Dispose of Eggshells?
You should dispose of eggshells through composting. If you have access to an organic garden, crush the eggshells and use them as a slug repellent. If you live in an apartment or somewhere where composting isn’t an option your best bet is to throw the eggshells in the trash.
If you want to minimize waste as much as possible, there are plenty of ways to use eggshells.
Can You Flush Eggshells Down the Toilet?
Eggshells are not flushable because they have a thin membrane that can block toilet pipes.
Additionally, eggshells are good ‘gathering sites’ for foreign objects in pipes due to their porous nature. Fats, oils, and other substances will attach to the shells, severely blocking the pipes.
How Can You Tell If an Egg Has Gone Bad?
There are several techniques to determine whether an egg has gone bad:
Always check the expiry date
Checking the best before date on the egg cartons and trays is the most accessible and reliable means of verifying whether eggs are fit to consume.
The best before date is the end of the six-week safe-to-eat period for eggs, which begins the day the egg is placed in the carton.
Additionally, always refrigerate eggs in their original cartons because the carton protects the eggs from infections due to the permeability of eggshells.
Take a sniff of the egg
If the expiry date is unknown, you can occasionally smell the egg to determine if it is bad. While fresh eggs are odorless, rotten eggs emit a faint sulfurous odor, signaling that something is amiss.
Crack the egg onto a clean dish and sniff it thoroughly when in doubt. Throw the egg and clean the platter if it has a pungent smell.
Examine the shell for cracks, slime, dryness, damage, or powderiness
Bacterias are distinguished by their sliminess or fissures, whereas their powdery shells indicate mold.
If the shell appears dry and unbroken, crack the egg onto a clean bowl or plate before cooking the egg.
Examine the yolks and whites for discoloration such as pink, green, black, or blue that may suggest bacterial growth,
Perform a floating test
Conducting the egg floating test is a far more hygienic and unquestionably, more fun procedure.
While fresh eggs drop to the bottom, rotting eggs float to the top due to the massive air cell at the egg’s base. Place the eggs in a dish filled with cold tap water and cover with a lid to conduct the floating test.
When Should You Throw Away an Egg?
If your egg floats during a floating test, appears to be discolored, or emits a pungent, strange, or peculiar odor, discard it.
Once you throw away the egg, thoroughly clean the bowl that the egg was in with hot, soapy water before proceeding.
Should You Dispose of Egg Whites And Yolks Differently?
You can dispose of egg whites and yolks differently, but you do not have to since there is no extra benefit.
Show You Throw Away Egg Yolk?
Many individuals throw the yolk and consume only the white section of the egg due to the high cholesterol content in the yolk.
Each egg contains around 186mg of cholesterol, most of which is found in the yolk.
Nonetheless, even if you are trying to reduce weight, avoid throwing the yolk unless your dietician recommends it.
How Do You Unclog a Sink If There Are Eggshells In It?
The optimal method to unclog your toilet is bubbling. The vinegar and baking soda reaction will aid in disintegrating the eggshells.
Top up bubbling with hot water to clear the clog. The result is crystal clear pipes.
Requirements include:-
- A cup of Blanc vinegar
- 1 cup bicarbonate of soda
- Drain plug.
- How water
Step1: Pour the vinegar and baking soda
Pour the vinegar down your sink’s drain and immediately follow it up with a sprinkle of the baking soda. Quickly cover the drain plug and hold this position until the fizzing stops.
Step 2: Wait for the reaction to stop
Allow approximately 30 minutes for the reaction to occur till the fizzing ceases.
Step 3: Hot Water Flush
Remove the plug from the sink and pour hot water down it. The water will wash out the remaining baking soda, vinegar, and any obstructions, and your drain should be free of clogs.
Call a plumber if the procedure outlined above does not work or is very time-consuming.
Without a doubt, a plumber will perform a professional unclogging and address any underlying concerns.