Garbage disposal or no

[planner]

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

 

Instead of removing small scraps from the sink, you can push it down the drain. Personally, I don't like touching scraps. Perhaps it's really not easier but I think it's more pleasant.

[Guest]

Absolutely no garbage disposal!  Just another thing to break in the house.  Plus, I saw this episode once where a ghost inhabited a house and turned the garbage disposal on while the repairman's hand was down there....yeah, no thanks.  Freakin' traumatized me for life and I don't even believe in ghosts.

[Laura Corin]

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 :)

 

I have two of these colanders.  I put one in the dishwasher every couple of days.  No hassle at all.

 

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30202544/

 

L

[ktgrok]

I don't get the "another thing to break" argument. My stove might break, my refrigerator might break, my dishwasher might break. But they probably won't and will serve me well in the meantime. I've had one disposal break and need to be replaced in my adult life. One. Compared to convenience of it, that's a decent pay off!

[73349]

The house came with one, but we didn't use it. (I don't think I'd had one before.) Then it broke and caused the drain to stop working properly, and we had it removed. I vote against the noisy things!

 

We fortunately have a compost pick-up service here now, which takes meat scraps, bones, mango pits, all the stuff the worms were no good for. :) They either bring back your compost or let you donate it to a community garden. If you don't have a composting option, scraping into the trash is just as easy.

Edited January 12, 2016 by whitehawk

[JFSinIL]

I grew up with a disposal, and my folks shoving all sorts of food down it, running the thing before turning on the dishwasher.

 

Then in our own home we had to have a plumber come out and he said NEVER let any veggie stuff like potato or carrot peels, etc. down the disposal as the fibrous stuff just made nice big plugs - unless we wanted to give him more business. He said my hubby should stop grinding up lemon rinds, too, as all he was really doing was clogging up the drain instead of making it smell pretty. Anyway, we still have one, but it is just to grind up the bits and pieces that don't get scooped up and put in the trash or composted.

[redsquirrel]

I grew up with a disposal, and my folks shoving all sorts of food down it, running the thing before turning on the dishwasher.

 

Then in our own home we had to have a plumber come out and he said NEVER let any veggie stuff like potato or carrot peels, etc. down the disposal as the fibrous stuff just made nice big plugs - unless we wanted to give him more business. He said my hubby should stop grinding up lemon rinds, too, as all he was really doing was clogging up the drain instead of making it smell pretty. Anyway, we still have one, but it is just to grind up the bits and pieces that don't get scooped up and put in the trash or composted.

 

Yes, I have a friend whose husband is a plumber and he talks the same way. He'd prefer it if the pipes never got used, in fact. I am pretty sure he's be happier if kids only peed and pooped at school as well, just to save wear and tear on the house pipes.

 

He's given his wife all these rules about what can and cannot go down the disposal etc.  Rules which she completely ignores every single day, lol. They haven't had any problems whatsoever and he insists it's because their disposal only gets used for 'bits and pieces'.  I have personally seen it used for...not bits and pieces, I can tell you that.

 

[ktgrok]

Yes, I have a friend whose husband is a plumber and he talks the same way. He'd prefer it if the pipes never got used, in fact. I am pretty sure he's be happier if kids only peed and pooped at school as well, just to save wear and tear on the house pipes.

 

He's given his wife all these rules about what can and cannot go down the disposal etc.  Rules which she completely ignores every single day, lol. They haven't had any problems whatsoever and he insists it's because their disposal only gets used for 'bits and pieces'.  I have personally seen it used for...not bits and pieces, I can tell you that.

 

 

LOL! Yeah. My husband gave me those rules. I ignored them. Then we watched the episode of This Old House about it and I got to say I was right :)

[ScoutTN]

I like mine. It makes clean up easier.

We do compost, but my bin fills in the cooler months. Besides, my compost bin is only for plant based refuse. No animal stuff or we get racoons, coyotes and even rats.

[Tanaqui]

No animal stuff or we get raccoons, coyotes and even rats.

 

LOL, gotta love the order you put that in. Pretty sure I would've put rats first, both because they're the most expected compost intruder around here (well, other than cockroaches, I suppose, but in the bin they're at least doing their roachy duty instead of invading my home) and also because I might actually be scared to see a coyote on the street! If I see a rat on the street I'm not thrilled, but I kinda expect rats to coexist wherever we find large masses of people.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Tanaqui

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Our old house had one but this one doesn't because we're on septic.  I miss it very much even after 4 1/2 years.  I HATE taking disgusting food in the strainer and carrying it over to the garbage can.  So nice to just push it down the disposal and clean the sink.  Also, I am the only one that will toss the food left in the sink because everyone else is too grossed out. :huh:

[sbgrace]

I have a disposal in this current house. I didn't have one in the previous homes we've had--so 17 or so years without.

You avoid  fats in any drains/sinks, so that isn't different.

 

It's not a huge deal to be without, but it's easier to clean with one. If I had a choice, I'd install. You don't have to use it just because you have it, but you might like it. And, if not, someone buying someday might be happier to see it there.

[Sdel]

You should not be putting food down the drain on a septic.  The little pieces that fit down the drain on their own are fine though.  Not only can the pieces get stuck in the interior pumps and break them, but the food contributes to the sediment layer and will cause you to need to pump your tank more frequently.  Pumping a tank is expensive. 

 

Stefanie

[EMS83]

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

 

Down the drain.  ;)  Semi-rural girl here.  Big food is scraped into the trash currently, and the stray peas and whatnot get smashed down the non-disposal drain anyway.   :lol:   

 

I'm honestly too lazy to set us up to compost without chickens, so we don't do that (yeah, I know how crazy that sounds!).  I wanted a disposal really bad when I was the only one doing the dishes.  But now the kids help, and at their ages, I'm too paranoid to risk having one installed.  I hear lemon and hot water is all that's needed to clean it?  And ice to sharpen the blades?  Someone can confirm or deny that.

[redsquirrel]

Down the drain.   ;)  Semi-rural girl here.  Big food is scraped into the trash currently, and the stray peas and whatnot get smashed down the non-disposal drain anyway.   :lol:   

 

I'm honestly too lazy to set us up to compost without chickens, so we don't do that (yeah, I know how crazy that sounds!).  I wanted a disposal really bad when I was the only one doing the dishes.  But now the kids help, and at their ages, I'm too paranoid to risk having one installed.  I hear lemon and hot water is all that's needed to clean it?  And ice to sharpen the blades?  Someone can confirm or deny that.

 

It doesn't really have blades to be sharpened. It's not like it is a bunch of knives, dicing food up.  It is more a bunch of smashers. You don't need to sharpen smashers.  Ice can help if there are things like threads from celery caught between the whirling smashers, but so can very hot and soapy water.  If anything seems a little bit slow with mine, I drizzle some dish soap down there, while it is grinding, and it adds enough lubrication to get things moving again.

[Another Lynn]

I had ours taken out years ago after it had problems.  I like my sink much better without it and never anticipate having one again.

[ErinE]

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.

 

In one state, we couldn't have compost. It attracted bears. I did not want more bears than usual near my house.

[Pawz4me]

It doesn't really have blades to be sharpened. It's not like it is a bunch of knives, dicing food up.  It is more a bunch of smashers. You don't need to sharpen smashers.  Ice can help if there are things like threads from celery caught between the whirling smashers, but so can very hot and soapy water.  If anything seems a little bit slow with mine, I drizzle some dish soap down there, while it is grinding, and it adds enough lubrication to get things moving again.

 

That's what I do -- except I give mine an adult sized dose of Dawn (so more than a drizzle).

 

I saw a plumber on TV years ago who said the best thing to do to keep a disposal working well was to periodically fill the sink almost to the brim with very hot, soapy water (he recommended Dawn).  Then turn the disposal on and pull the plug and let all that wonderful hot, soapy water clean the disposal.  I do that a few times a year.

[marbel]

LOL! Yeah. My husband gave me those rules. I ignored them. Then we watched the episode of This Old House about it and I got to say I was right :)

 

We routinely put citrus peels in the disposal. 

 

When we were on a septic, we had a disposal and used it.  Lived there 9 years and never a problem.

 

Now, we did have a problem with a disposal once, in our first house, on the 2nd night we lived there.  I'd made a batch of couscous and put some into the disposal and, I guess, let it sit for a while before I ran the disposal. You know what couscous does when you put it in water, right?   Yeah, it gets bigger.  We had a bad clog up. 

 

But other than that, I've had a disposal in every house I've lived in as an adult, and while we have replaced one, that's all we've done.  It was in this house, and it was an old, cheap model anyway. 

 

I just see it as another appliance; sometimes they break!

[mom@shiloh]

The garbage disposal is the one thing that is non-negotiable in my kitchen.  I compost almost everything that can be  composted, but I love having the disposal for the junk that's left behind.  Absolutely non-negotiable!!  

[SparklyUnicorn]

I like having one.  I don't throw everything down there though.  Mostly just whatever bits end up there off of plates and stuff.  While I'd like to compost, I'm not sure how to do that and avoid rodents.  We live in a city where the houses are close together and we have a microscopic yard so not much room and, again, I don't want to attract rodents.  The squirrels are crazy enough.  In fact they chewed a hole through the lid of our garbage can.  We just leave it.  So long as the lid stays on at least the stuff says in the can.

 

It came with the house.  I'm not sure I'd go out of my way and spend extra for it.

 

 

 

[Tap]

I have always had an extra heavy duty one.  I haven't had any problems, and I would pay to have one installed in any house I own.  I compost veggie items in the yard bin, but anything with meat or dairy (chicken soup, left over stew, ceral with milk, etc) go down the disposal. 

[TranquilMind]

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.

Ok. Do it at your own risk. I'm using the trash.

[kiwik]

It is only recently become common in NZ. I studied treatment plant design and worked with plumbers and i honestly don't think most systems are designed to cope with mushed up food waste as well as bodily wastes.

[SeaConquest]

Going without a garbage disposal is my number one pet peeve when living outside the U.S. It drives me crazy living without one. So gross and unnecessary. Embrace technology.

Edited January 13, 2016 by SeaConquest

[heartlikealion]

I'm so accustomed to not having one that I don't know what to do with myself when I go places with one. My in-laws are always like, "oh you can dump that down the drain!" if they see me scraping a plate into the trash can. But I don't know how much can go down the drain and I feel weird about it. They peel their eggs over the sink and use the egg shells to "clean" the disposal walls. I don't peel eggs over the sink. This does not affect me. I'm pretty sure when we had a disposal it ended up messing up and being worth more hassle than it was worth. Maybe user error, I don't know.

[dollhouse]

We have septic and a disposal. We don't intentionally put food down the drain ever, but invariably, either in cooking or cleaning, little bits are going to go down the drain/through the dishwasher. Without a disposal, I'd imagine you might be more prone to sink "smells" since larger particles could just get stuck and decay in the p-trap portion of the pipe?

[heartlikealion]

We have a wire sink guard thingy which catches a lot. But yes, food still does end up going down.

 

Looks like this: http://vermontkitchensupply.com/products/Sink-Strainer.html

[Tap]

 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.

Part of it depends on they style and power of the motor.  

 

It is the sticky factor with potato peels that can be part of the problem.  The way they cling together when wet, and then you add the starch, which acts like a glue and creates the clog. (Same with pasta and rice) I agree that a little at a time can go down, but the tipping point to a clog is a mystery....until it isn't.  And that is one very bad day indeed!

[1GirlTwinBoys]

If forgot to mention that we didn't throw everything down the disposal either.  We did scrape our plates after eating meals for the bigger stuff.  DON'T PUT EGG SHELLS down the disposal.  Mine had to be fixed after doing that numerous times.  They also say don't put coffee grinds down it.

[kristi26]

Skip it. Garbage disposals have been known to cause smell issues and, more importantly, pipe back ups.

 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

[kristi26]

Septic

In this case, absolutely do NOT do it. That would be a nightmare for your system. My husband works in the septic industry. He has said over and over how bad they are. We will never have one.

 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

[Word Nerd]

I miss having one. The mesh insert/traps are disgusting.

[DawnM]

Oh goodness, I use mine daily.

[kewb]

My folks had one while I was growing up. Loved it. Have not had one since getting married 23 years ago. I miss it. I hate leaky, gross garbage. I hate sink bits and pieces almost as much as I hate hair in the drain.

Our ice maker sprung a leak and flooded the basement. I will never have an automatic ice maker or water in the door again. It has been years since we disconnected it and I don't miss it at all. I was never a big ice user and the rest of the family adapted to iceless beverages. If they want ice they can fill the ice trays and make it themselves. If we have people over we buy a bag of ice.

[jemsmom]

No garbage disposal here. It broke years ago and we never replaced it.  Instead, we have a dog who does an excellent job 'scraping and rinsing' the dishes before they go in the dishwasher (she takes her job *very* seriously).

 

I don't miss it one bit.  No more trying to turn on the sink light and accidentally flipping on the garbage disposal instead. No more yucky water splashing up in my face when it's running.  And best of all, no more mangled spoons!

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Going without a garbage disposal is my number one pet peeve when living outside the U.S. It drives me crazy living without one. So gross and unnecessary. Embrace technology.

 

This reminds me of an exchange student from Japan I became friends with in high school.  I was at the home where she was staying and my other friend threw noodles down the drain and the exchange student freaked out.  She had never seen a garbage disposal apparently and could not figure out why anyone would throw food into the sink. LOL

[heartlikealion]

If forgot to mention that we didn't throw everything down the disposal either.  We did scrape our plates after eating meals for the bigger stuff.  DON'T PUT EGG SHELLS down the disposal.  Mine had to be fixed after doing that numerous times.  They also say don't put coffee grinds down it.

 

This article seems to sum up my in-law's views/why they do it.

 

http://www.youfixityourself.com/ask_eli/eggshells_in_garbage_disposal.html

 

 

[Word Nerd]

No garbage disposal here. It broke years ago and we never replaced it.  Instead, we have a dog who does an excellent job 'scraping and rinsing' the dishes before they go in the dishwasher (she takes her job *very* seriously).

:ack2:

[rjand6more]

I had one for 17 years on town water supply. I miss it so much!  We moved to a house with a septic.  No disposal.  So gross.  I hate straining food and tossing it in the trash. I will be getting a super powerful septic safe disposal in the future.  Can't have a compost here because of animals.

[TeenagerMom]

We had one in this house for 7 years.  Then we renovated our house 1 1/2 years ago and didn't put a new one in.  I don't even miss it.  Food that can goes in the dog's belly, the rest into the trash.  Covered trash cans outside.  Yes, they stink some, but they would stink anyway in 100 degree heat.

 

Oh, and I never have to worry about a smelly sink anymore.  The underside of the black rubber safety gasket on our old one would get all sorts of buildup gunk and smelled to high heaven.

 

 

[J-rap]

You're getting so many different answers here!

 

I had one growing up, and never had one since, and don't miss it at all.

 

My parents have one, and I'm at their house a lot and use theirs, but I still don't miss one in my own home at all.

 

Honestly, there are so many things I can't put down their garbage disposal (a sink full of peels, for example), that I end up scooping up food in their sink almost as often as in my own.

 

And it breaks down about once/year.

 

Or a spoon goes down it.

 

We do have a bathroom directly off our kitchen, and I sometimes use the toilet in there to scrape soft/liquid foods into.  Kind of handy.

[redsquirrel]

If forgot to mention that we didn't throw everything down the disposal either.  We did scrape our plates after eating meals for the bigger stuff.  DON'T PUT EGG SHELLS down the disposal.  Mine had to be fixed after doing that numerous times.  They also say don't put coffee grinds down it.

 

That is a weak garbage disposal. If that is the case in your house then you absolutely shouldn't put stuff like egg shells down there.  I paid a bit more, 25$ more to be exact, and got a very strong one.  It handles avocado pits, chicken bones, I accidentally found out it can deal with peach pits, lol.  So, yeah, egg shells and coffee grounds and potato peels aren't a big deal. 

 

I don't have patience for stuff that has to be coddled, I wanted something that would just do what I needed it to do, and I am very happy with it.

 

Same with my dishwasher. I went in and asked for one that didn't require rinsing or scraping of the dishes.  It's over 10 years old and still works beautifully. I can put bowls in with bits of oatmeal at the bottom, plates and bowls covered in sauce an remnants of pasta, casserole dishes with stuff on the sides, and it's gone when I take it out. Egg yolk is the only thing that puts up a fight, but it came with a flat out warning that egg yolk is the most difficult thing to get off.  I can live with that.

 

I remember buying the disposal. A new one, when I bought it, about 6 years ago, was 50$ at Sears.  I paid 75$ at Sears for a stronger model. It wasn't a huge expense for something that has worked very well for years.  DH was able to install it himself.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We have one, and I've always had one.  We are now on a septic system, so I scrape most food off, but a tiny bit escapes down the drain.  I usually end up running the thing once a day for just a couple seconds, to get rid of those tiny bits.

 

They make special garbage disposals just for septic systems.  I got one at Lowe's.

[hopskipjump]

My two absolute must-haves in a kitchen are a dishwasher and a garbage disposal. If I had to pick between the two, I'm thinking I'd pick the garbage disposal. Can't imagine life without it.

 

We don't dump whole leftover plates down the thing - just little bits and pieces that didn't willingly leave the plate when I scraped it off into the trash can. Ours has been going strong (knock wood) for over 15 years. Maybe longer.

[heartlikealion]

Absolutely no garbage disposal!  Just another thing to break in the house.  Plus, I saw this episode once where a ghost inhabited a house and turned the garbage disposal on while the repairman's hand was down there....yeah, no thanks.  Freakin' traumatized me for life and I don't even believe in ghosts.

 

----

 

 

I like mine. It makes clean up easier.

We do compost, but my bin fills in the cooler months. Besides, my compost bin is only for plant based refuse. No animal stuff or we get racoons, coyotes and even rats.

 

LOL, gotta love the order you put that in. Pretty sure I would've put rats first, both because they're the most expected compost intruder around here (well, other than cockroaches, I suppose, but in the bin they're at least doing their roachy duty instead of invading my home) and also because I might actually be scared to see a coyote on the street! If I see a rat on the street I'm not thrilled, but I kinda expect rats to coexist wherever we find large masses of people.

 

This thread. :lol:

Edited January 14, 2016 by heartlikealion

[Laura Corin]

No garbage disposal here. It broke years ago and we never replaced it.  Instead, we have a dog who does an excellent job 'scraping and rinsing' the dishes before they go in the dishwasher (she takes her job *very* seriously).

 

 

I've never understood the idea of rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.  My MIL used to do it - maybe it was necessary for older machines.  We just scrape plates into the bin and then put them in the dishwasher.  It works very well.

[Tap]

I've never understood the idea of rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.  My MIL used to do it - maybe it was necessary for older machines.  We just scrape plates into the bin and then put them in the dishwasher.  It works very well.

LOL this comment cracks me up.

 

At Thanksgiving, we hosted about 20.  When I was loading the dishwasher, almost all of them came to watch me put plates in the dishwasher that were only scraped off.  My SIL was delighted to inform everyone that it was ok, I had a dishwasher that could handle it!  They ALL said they had always scraped and rinsed (some even scrubbed) the dishes before putting them in.  I think most American models have grinders/disposals built it (otherwise it has a filter screen that needs to be cleaned). Filters are quieter, so a lot of higher end washers have the filter, not the disposal feature.

[Tap]

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.

A plumber can make it work with or without.   If you are taking out a garbage disposal that is plumbed with a dishwasher, just make sure to follow building codes for your area.  It does change the plumbing a bit, but not a big deal.

 

Dishwashers have either a screen-style-filter or it has it own internal grinder/garbage disposal for small bits of food.  

Edited January 14, 2016 by Tap

[Laura Corin]

LOL this comment cracks me up.

 

At Thanksgiving, we hosted about 20.  When I was loading the dishwasher, almost all of them came to watch me put plates in the dishwasher that were only scraped off.  My SIL was delighted to inform everyone that it was ok, I had a dishwasher that could handle it!  They ALL said they had always scraped and rinsed (some even scrubbed) the dishes before putting them in.  I think most American models have grinders/disposals built it (otherwise it has a filter screen that needs to be cleaned). Filters are quieter, so a lot of higher end washers have the filter, not the disposal feature.

 

We just have a filter screen.  We have a septic tank, and the dishwasher has never caused problems.