When I was growing up, these seemed to be ubiquitous and I never liked them. They seemed overcomplicated for the purpose, and created a gross and smelly area under the sink that needed more cleaning.
I haven’t had one in years, as a simple sink mesh does the same job. But I don’t really know how other people are. Are under sink garbage disposals still common, and commonly actually used by people here?
I’ve always had one in every place I live. Even the shitty apartment I had one was installed.
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ive never lived in a house or apt without one. they seem ubiquitous to me. seems weird there wouldnt be one.
I use mine all the time, much easier than dealing with a nasty sink strainer as I just spray down the sink into the disposal and run it. Also keeps the trash from smelling.
If it’s being smelly under the sink, it’s broken or not installed right. If it’s being smelly from the drain hole sink side then you’re not cleaning it from time to time (Which is as easy as dropping in some cleaner and running it every other month or so).
I’m actually looking to upgrade mine so it can handle some bones
The upgrade is so worth it. I got a 1hp one when I needed to replace the old one. I could probably send a whole rotisserie chicken down that thing without issue (other than destroying my plumbing anyways). I don’t deliberately send bones down it but it has happened and they don’t even slow it down.
A cup full of ice cubes once a week keeps mine clean
I used to have one, but everything I’d use it for should really be going in the compost, not the sewer.
Food waste goes to compost!
My house had the cheapest garbage disposal which I quickly broke. When I went to replace it, I found that replacing them is incredibly easy and the mid-tier model (about $120) said it could handle small beef bones and peach pits. I’ve been very happy with that, and all my food waste goes in. I don’t have a lot of room for compost, but the city purports to be generating electricity from the sewage, so I hope it isn’t wasted. It also means that my trash doesn’t smell, which is nice.
Are they easy to self-install? I still have a bit of new owner “shit I’m responsible for everything, better not fuck it up” mentality.
Yeah, they’re pretty easy as long as you already have the outlet under the sink. The hardest part is maneuvering the drain pipe into place. Once you have it in place there’s just two or three nuts you need to tighten. If you’re really worried about it, you can stick a bucket under it for a couple days it to check for leaks. I’d say it’s a pretty good project to get an intro to plumbing. In the worst case if you get in over your head, you can call a plumber to come in and finish it, and they’ll get it done within half an hour.
That was reassuring, thabk you. I didn’t specify, but it’s already set up for one with an under sink outlet connecting to a switch by the sink. So it shouldn’t require any new electrical work.
Easy to replace? sure. A couple hours if your handy.
But installing one for the first time will require electrical in addition to the and plumbing work. It’s a pretty big job for a DIYer.
Didn’t grow up with one, but consider it standard now. There should be an organic stream to waste disposal. Much more green to send your plate scrapings to the treatment plant than to wrap them up in plastic and bury it in a landfill.
I’ve never not had one, do you scoop all your food waste out of the sink with your hands? Cleaning is as easy as dropping a lemon peel in once in a while or a tray of ice.
Does the debris ever clog the strainer? Sometimes the disposal gets clogged and holds filthy water in the sink, and I just run the disposal and it clears it all out. Otherwise you’d have to reach in and grab the strainer out and that’s… Ew.
Or had a backflow issue
It’s definitely not necessary. It can be convenient.
It wouldn’t be very high on my list of wants, but I’ll use one if available.
My problem was not using the thing for long periods of time and it kinda jamming in place. They have a little quarter-inch hex key hole on the underside that you can use with a hex key to get 'em going again if that comes up.
They’re not legal where I live. Something about our sewage lines or treatment center not being able to handle it if I recall correctly. I have a clog resistant drain strainer that I clean out every time I rinse dishes in the sink instead.
I went out of my way to get one installed in a house that didn’t have one. So, yeah.
If yours is making a mess under the sink, it’s either broken or installed wrong.
Never had one, and can’t think of ever having seen one.
Almost impossible to get a condo in my area without one. I do use a mesh but I know from experience I have to run it once a month or it might rust out or something. Washing machine drains to it to.
Washing machine drains to it to.
I hope you mean the dishwasher…
yeah sorry. dishwasher.
There are portable washing machines that hook to a kitchen tap and drain to the sink, had one when renting a place with no laundry on-site and just hung dry everything. So much better than going to a laundromat weekly, and paid for itself too.
Depending on where they are, a washing machine in the kitchen might be a thing. It’s very common in the UK, for example.
