Garbage disposal or no

[Melinda S in TX]

I have never had a garbage disposal, but with the new addition it's an option.  Do I want one or not?  Why?

[planner]

You want one. It makes cleaning the sink easier. I grew up without one and I would never go back.

[regentrude]

We took ours out. I am greatly puzzled by the custom of chopping food waste and flushing it down the drain so the sewage plant can filter it out.

I compost.

Edited January 12, 2016 by regentrude

[regentrude]

You want one. It makes cleaning the sink easier.

 

Could you elaborate on the bolded? I don't understand.

 

[gardenmom5]

yes.  I also grew up without one, and would never go back.

 

eta: cleaning the sink - when you are rinsing things off, and get food stuffs in your sink - you just rinse it down the disposal.  when the trap on the other side gets food gunk in it - I can rinse it out in the other sink - and send it down the disposal.  I don't have to bend over the garbage, or get my hands nearly as gunky as without one. 

Edited January 12, 2016 by gardenmom5

[hjffkj]

I don't miss our's one bit and won't be replacing it ever.

[The Girls' Mom]

Septic tank or sewer would be my first question.  You aren't really supposed to have them with septic.  

I've lived with and without them.  I don't have one now and don't really miss it.

[Pawz4me]

I like ours, but I don't know that I'd be heartbroken if I didn't have it.

[Amira]

Meh. I wouldn't bother. I use it a bit when we have one but I don't miss it when we don't. 

[TranquilMind]

I have never had a garbage disposal, but with the new addition it's an option.  Do I want one or not?  Why?

No.  I've never had one and I remove them from rentals.  If you ever have drain problems, the clearing will not be guaranteed if you have one.

 

I just throw the remains in the trash and wrap it up. 

 

Don't EVER put potato peels in the garbage disposal!  Ask me how I know.  I instruct each tenant that it exists for the stray pea or gravy remains, not full plates of food.  Because some really do not know.

 

I have a big expensive disposal in a house I just bought.  I will probably leave that awhile.

I also remove water lines to the refrigerators.  Just another area for potential leak.  The last one cost me over $500 for floor repair, as it was not noticed until someone stepped on the floor and water squirted upward. 

 

So from a practical, reducing-work perspective, those are a big no.  I can put my food remains in the trash and get my own ice from trays in the freezer.  I also don't have to replace filters all the time. 

But your mileage may vary. 

[Tsuga]

We took ours out. I am greatly puzzled by the custom of chopping food waste and flushing it down the drain so the sewage plant can filter it out.

I compost.

 

I feel the same way. I think it is strange.

 

Strangeness aside, it's just one more thing to maintain and look out for ("Don't let the straw go down the garbage disposal!") which is what really seals the deal for me. We have mesh filters and just dump those in the compost.

[Bluegoat]

I can't see how it is a good idea to let that stuff go down your drain.

 

If I could use it just to munch stuff for the compost, that might be ok.  But in any case, if we don't have a home compost pile, we have a city gren bin that food remnants are supposed to go in.

 

It strikes me as a PITA to clean, and something that will break.  But - no one here has them.  The only one I've dealt with was in a house I nannied in where the people had moved from California.

[Melinda S in TX]

Septic tank or sewer would be my first question.  You aren't really supposed to have them with septic.  

 

I've lived with and without them.  I don't have one now and don't really miss it.

 

Septic

[Night Elf]

I don't currently have one and I miss it tremendously.

[Ellie]

Love my disposal. In 42 years, have only had one "break." I don't know why you'd have to clean it. :huh: I don't know why it would be a bad thing to run small bits of food down the drain.   :huh: 

 

After a meal, I scrape the food into the running disposal (big things like bones go into the trash) and put the dishes into the dishwasher. Easy peasy.

 

I don't know how you'd rinse dishes without a disposal. Where do the little food particles go??

 

City girl here. :D

[aggie96]

I grew up without one (septic system).  There is no way I would live without one now.  In fact, we just has a sink installed in the summer kitchen and endured the extra expense of connecting the sink to the sewer to install a disposal there also.  I hate when food is scraped into trash can.  The smells.  The mess on the rim of the can.  Constant reminding not put anything down the drain.  Blech!  No way.  There are very few things that I wouldn't put down the disposal that we consume and (knock on wood) have never had a problem due to that.  I have had disposals stop working.  I guess we replace about every 8 years.

 

I composted for about 2 years and STILL wouldn't live without one.   :)

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2016 by aggie96

[ktgrok]

I will not live without one. Why? Soup,that's why. I don't want runny soup dumped in the trash to leak when/if the bag rips. But I can't put it in the sink if I don't have a disposal. I can't believe there are people who don't like disposals. It is my number one kitchen requirement. 

[Annie G]

We've had ours for 20+ years and love it.  We don't have a septic tank, though. 

 

It would take some getting used to if I didn't have one since I scrape plates into the sink, but it's just a convenience. I could live without it. 

[fairfarmhand]

Septic tank here and a disposal; we don't scrape plates into it. Just flush the sink of little bits of ick. Love that I don't have to clean out those nasty strainers. We scrape plates into the chicken food  bucket. I NEVER put food scraps into the trash. Gross. Gross. gross.

[redsquirrel]

I looooove ours.  We paid an extra 25$ and got one that can chop up chicken bones if needed.  It has no problem with potato peels, shrimp shells, avocado seeds, banana peels, etc

 

I have some practical reasons for having one:

 

We live in the city and we did have a compost, but it got filled up pretty quickly.  We don't have the physical space to set up another compost.

 

Our garbage sits in the basement waiting until pick up day.  We don't have an outside place to keep it, so it really needs to not stink

 

We have to pay by the can of garbage, so it makes sense for us to keep our garbage as light as possible.  We can recycle almost everything so taking the food waste out makes our garbage very light. We don't eat red meat or pork that might have bones, so I can honestly say that 100% of our food waste can go down the disposal. 

 

One plus for me is that it makes cleaning out the fridge a snap!

 

Plus, we don't garden, so we didn't really have a need for the compost once we made it, lol.

 

Having a disposal makes our garbage nothing but actual non-recyclables.  Because we have extensive recycling in our area, I only have to put out the trash maybe once a month. That is a big savings.

 

 

[Annie Elle]

I would like to have one but don't because of the septic tank. We have spent too much money on our septic system to take any chances.

[Guest]

We had a consumer garbage disposal that always clogged, and have since switched to an industrial one. It can take beef rib bones, any sort of peel, fat, whatever. It's phenomenal.

 

I'd like to compost but we haven't bothered here yet and our city sewer has no problems with food scraps. On septic of probably not use one but I really love having a garbage disposal that is powerful.

[Guest]

Oh, and we are another family whose garbage had to sit inside the garage to not attract animals, and we pay to take it to the dump. Food waste in the trash can makes our whole house smell.

[marbel]

I will not live without one. Why? Soup,that's why. I don't want runny soup dumped in the trash to leak when/if the bag rips. But I can't put it in the sink if I don't have a disposal. I can't believe there are people who don't like disposals. It is my number one kitchen requirement. 

 

This is one of the things I was thinking of.

 

I was also thinking about meat - was always told not to put meat or fat in the compost - but I am not sure that's true anymore. 

 

if a person doesn't have chickens and/or a use for compost, a disposal is mighty helpful.

 

[Bluegoat]

This is one of the things I was thinking of.

 

I was also thinking about meat - was always told not to put meat or fat in the compost - but I am not sure that's true anymore. 

 

if a person doesn't have chickens and/or a use for compost, a disposal is mighty helpful.

 

 

If I have something really liquid, I generally compost the bits and drain off the broth - though I line the indoor bin with newsprint which will soak up some.

 

As far as meat and fat - generally the idea is that in an outdoor compost pile, it will attract vermin and also not necessarily get hot enough to kill pathogens.  So, if you want to compost them at home you need an enclosed bin that gets hot.  City compost systems will not have the same limitations.

 

But plumbers have always told me that it isn't a good idea to put any food scraps, even small ones, or fats or oils, down the drain. 

[Spryte]

I like ours. We have an extra powerful one, and it is super quiet, too. Love it.

[happi duck]

The only places I've lived that had disposals were also the only places with dishwashers...I always assumed they went together for some reason!

 

When we had one we didn't really use it.

[UCF612]

Our last house had one and I loved it. Our new house doesn't have one and I do find it messier. We have a mesh trap and it can be gross to empty even though we scrape plates into the trash (we have a small can for food scraps that gets taken out at least once a day - pain!). We probably won't get a disposal though because we have a septic tank and were told it was strongly recommended against. That said, my parents are on septic and have a disposal that hasn't caused any issues in 20 some years. They are careful to not put down grease or certain items.

Edited January 12, 2016 by UCF612

[ktgrok]

If I have something really liquid, I generally compost the bits and drain off the broth - though I line the indoor bin with newsprint which will soak up some.

 

As far as meat and fat - generally the idea is that in an outdoor compost pile, it will attract vermin and also not necessarily get hot enough to kill pathogens.  So, if you want to compost them at home you need an enclosed bin that gets hot.  City compost systems will not have the same limitations.

 

But plumbers have always told me that it isn't a good idea to put any food scraps, even small ones, or fats or oils, down the drain. 

 

This Old House did a segment on disposals. The only thing they said was bad to put down the pipes was fats/grease. Everything else was fine. 

[ikslo]

I really miss the one we had at our last place. 

[Shellydon]

Yes.  I can't imagine not having one. 

[knoxinsox]

I've never had one. To me its just one more thing to malfunction and use electricity.  I put a little screen in the sink when I wash dishes and dump it in the trash when I'm finished.  I scrape plates and peel veg right into the trash can.

 

 I'm not currently composting, since we are in a rental with no garden space and no place to dump it.  I need to figure that out, but its a great option to recycle and reuse instead of putting it into the sewer.

[StephanieZ]

I love them. When we redid our kitchen, I put disposals in BOTH sinks. I hate cleaning the shmutz out of the sink drainer. We have septic, so we don't put loads of potato peels or whatever down there, but for scraping dishes, random shmutz, etc, it all goes WHOOSH.

 

BTW, add an "air button" to control the disposal. Way spiffier than a wall switch (and also handy if your sink isn't near a wall, say, on an island).

[Farrar]

I love ours. I agree with the cleaning up thing. Whenever I'm cleaning dishes somewhere without one, it makes scrubbing something with lots of stuck on bits so annoying. I don't mind having the little hatch thing and cleaning it out, but there's always some food bits you can't scrape into the trash. And then those gunk up the little hatch and you can't get them all. So much easier if there's a disposal. I know a number of families who do it this way - they compost, they don't put much down the disposal, but it helps them keep the sink clean.

[SKL]

I like having one.

[Heidi]

I don't like disposals. Things fall in that shouldn't, and then you have to reach into the dark abyss and fish it out. Gross. I wish I didn't have one. I would rather empty out a strainer.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I love mine and use it copiously. But I am on city sewer and honestly a septic tank would be a real estate deal breaker for me anyway.

[Tanaqui]

I also remove water lines to the refrigerators.  Just another area for potential leak.  The last one cost me over $500 for floor repair, as it was not noticed until someone stepped on the floor and water squirted upward.

 

I've never had one. To me its just one more thing to malfunction and use electricity.

 

 

To this day, my mother refuses to get a fridge with an ice maker. She says it's just something that might break, and then she'd feel stupid telling people "No, the ice tray's in the freezer, the thing's broken".

 

But I can't put it in the sink if I don't have a disposal.

 

?? Can't you strain off the liquid and then toss out the solids?

 

I don't know how you'd rinse dishes without a disposal. Where do the little food particles go??

 

Into the drain catch. Same as in the bathtub for hair or the laundry sink for lint.

 

Don't EVER put potato peels in the garbage disposal!  Ask me how I know.

 

What happens if you do?

 

 I'm not currently composting, since we are in a rental with no garden space and no place to dump it.  I need to figure that out, but its a great option to recycle and reuse instead of putting it into the sewer.

 

More cities should offer free composting. NYC has one, but you have to drop it off. We tried out a curbside compost program for yard debris a few years back, which I loved, but then that fizzled out. (Though we do still compost Christmas trees around here!)

 

[Laura Corin]

I will not live without one. Why? Soup,that's why. I don't want runny soup dumped in the trash to leak when/if the bag rips. But I can't put it in the sink if I don't have a disposal. I can't believe there are people who don't like disposals. It is my number one kitchen requirement. 

 

I put a sieve in the sink, pour the soup through, then put the solids in the bin.

[MEmama]

I like ours. We compost most of the year so I use it mostly in the deep winter months. I've never had anything fall inside that shouldn't or had any issues with it. I much prefer having one than not.

[Ellie]

 

 

Don't EVER put potato peels in the garbage disposal!  Ask me how I know.  I instruct each tenant that it exists for the stray pea or gravy remains, not full plates of food.  Because some really do not know.

 

 As long as your disposal is not older than dirt, and you start the disposal and water and push the potato peels down a little at a time (as opposed to filling up the disposal with peels and *then* starting it) you'll be fine.

[OH_Homeschooler]

The only places I've lived that had disposals were also the only places with dishwashers...I always assumed they went together for some reason!

 

When we had one we didn't really use it.

 

Yeah, DH insists you need one when you have a dishwasher. Apparently you can mess things up pretty bad if you have a dishwasher but not a garbage disposal. 

 

I've had dishwashers without disposals and never experienced any problems that I can recall, but I have the disposal now and I like having it. I don't use it that much but it's nice to have.

[Pawz4me]

Yeah, DH insists you need one when you have a dishwasher. Apparently you can mess things up pretty bad if you have a dishwasher but not a garbage disposal. 

 

I've had dishwashers without disposals and never experienced any problems that I can recall, but I have the disposal now and I like having it. I don't use it that much but it's nice to have.

 

We've had two houses with a dishwasher but no garbage disposal.  We lived in them for a total of 22 years w/o a single problem.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Pawz4me

[DesertBlossom]

When we bought our house the garbage disposal broke shortly after. Dh took it out. Can't say I need it. The garbage is next to the sink so I empty the sink trap there. IMO, the garbage disposal is just another appliance to break.

[Kathryn]

I've never lived without a disposer. I wouldn't know how to function. Okay, not literally, but scraping into the trash and draining things and having rotting food sit around all week. Yuck!

[catz]

I think it is worth having.  That said, I still compost most of our food waste and send as little as possible down that thing.  But it is still nice for small items.  They do tend to break.  We're on our 3rd one since we bought our house about 12 years ago. 

[redsquirrel]

I've never had one. To me its just one more thing to malfunction and use electricity.  I put a little screen in the sink when I wash dishes and dump it in the trash when I'm finished.  I scrape plates and peel veg right into the trash can.

 

 I'm not currently composting, since we are in a rental with no garden space and no place to dump it.  I need to figure that out, but its a great option to recycle and reuse instead of putting it into the sewer.

 

It gets collected at the sewage plant, treated and.....composted. That is what happens to all the stuff we send to the sewage treatment plant.

 

So, it gets composted anyway. Right along with everything else we put down the drain. 

[G5052]

We're on a septic field, so I've never had one in this house. Some folks we know ignore that and put them in. We were really, really tight when we moved in, so we didn't bother with adding one and frankly never looked back. You get used to not having one.

 

I put a sieve in the sink, pour the soup through, then put the solids in the bin.

 

When we're cleaning up, I routinely put one in the sink to dump things in, and then we throw that in the trash. I also have mesh covers for the drains that we stick in the dishwasher. IMHO it's actually less messy and smelly in the long run. We can a lot of tomatoes from our garden, and it isn't a big deal for us at all to use a strainer for that either.

[redsquirrel]

Yeah, DH insists you need one when you have a dishwasher. Apparently you can mess things up pretty bad if you have a dishwasher but not a garbage disposal. 

 

I've had dishwashers without disposals and never experienced any problems that I can recall, but I have the disposal now and I like having it. I don't use it that much but it's nice to have.

 

I had a dishwasher and no disposal for 10 years. No problems whatsoever. I don't know what would get messed up?

 

Dishwashers have a built in grinder for waste (that is what makes a lot of the noise in a dishwasher) or it has to have a filter to keep it out of the pipes.  Those ultra quiet dishwashers often don't have a food grinder. However, the owner has to clean the filter every couple days or it gets pretty gross. I have a few friends with ultra quiet dishwashers, and cleaning the filter a couple times a week is an extra chore, but not a big deal.

[ktgrok]

I put a sieve in the sink, pour the soup through, then put the solids in the bin.

 

Ok, but now I have another dish to wash! No thanks. I've had a disposal break once in my adult life. I'm not going without a disposal anymore than I'm going to go without a refrigerator :)