One of my favorite things about jack-o-lantern carving is pulling out the pumpkin’s pulp. I love the way the seeds squish and squirm about in my hands. I get to experience this same pleasure when preparing pumpkins, squash, and gourds for something I’m cooking. However, this festive pulp can do a real number on your plumbing if you don’t dispose of it properly (when you’re done playing with it, of course).
“The slimy pulp coats the inside walls of your pipes and garbage disposal,” says Paul Abrams, spokesman for Roto-Rooter, “then it hardens and chokes your drains.”
Roto-Rooter recommends carving pumpkins far away from the kitchen sink. Do this fun family task on a thick bed of old newspapers. Then, when your masterpiece is complete, you can just roll all the newspapers up, along with all the leftover pumpkin parts and threw it away in the trash. Never put the sticky, stringy pumpkin pulp down the drain, even if you have a garbage disposal.
