Think you can put anything down your sink that will fit? Not so fast! Experts have disclosed a list of the items that you should avoid putting down the kitchen sink, even if there is a waste disposal unit underneath.

According to Daily Mail, taking care to put them in the bin instead of flushing them down the sink could help to prevent the build-up of enormous and disgusting 'fatbergs'.

If you have a waste disposal unit, a good rule of thumb is not to put anything down there that you wouldn't be able to chew through.

1. Pasta, rice and potato peels

Even if have a waste disposal unit in your sink, you should still avoid flushing starchy foods such as pasta, potato peels and rice down the kitchen sink as these starchy foods turn to goo inside your drain.

2. Oil and Fats

Even if the oil manages to get down to sewer level, it will solidify there and start forming a fatberg that could grow to an epic size.

This includes car fluids as well as cooking oil, condiments and mayonnaise. Fats include meat trimmings, chicken skin, butter and milk.

3. Coffee grounds and eggshell shards

They may be tiny, but even small scraps of these items can wreak havoc on your drainpipes. Coffee grounds are one of the worst offenders for causing blockages, along with shards of broken eggshells. These don't really break down, and over time can cause a blockage.

4. Seeds and grains

Seeds are far too solid to be ground up, even by a waste disposal unit, and the same applies to any fruit or vegetable pulp - it's hard to break down and will just stay in your drain and create blockages.

5. Stringy foods

Stringy or fibrous foods, such as celery or asparagus, should never be put down the sink or put into a waste disposal unit.

The food scraps can apparently wrap around the waste disposal unit and create blockages or stop the motor.

6. Flushable Wipes, cotton balls and paper towels

Wet wipes do not disintegrate like toilet paper and cause no end of problems.  Cotton balls and paper towels might be biodegradable, but their absorbency means they are perfect candidates for clogging up pipes.

What is a fatberg?

Fatbergs - congealed fat which clumps together with other waste products to form solid blocks - are becoming increasingly problematic .

London's largest ever recorded fatberg, weighing in at 15 tonnes, was found in Kingston on Thames, in August 2013.

Among the most common causes of drain blockages are make-up and nappy wipes, fat and grease, chewing gum, dental floss, plasters and building debris.

Sources: NZHerald, MNN