There are so many quesions about garbage disposal. are they even worth having?

Question

There are so many quesions on yahoo's answers..about people having problems with garbage disposal. smell, not working, backing up.. etc.. are they even worth having? mine backed up and flooded my dishwasher. i am thinking of taking it out.. any opinion.. or suggestion?

Answer 1

The reason that your dishwasher had a backup of water is not the disposal's fault. The drain hose must be looped up to the highest point and fastened there before it enters the disposal. In doing this you will prevent the water from backing up into the dishwasher.

As with any other appliance in the house a disposal must be used with care and reasonable forethought. You do not want to let small hard objects get into the unit to jamb it up. You should not store garbage in the unit for it to be run when there is more. It should be run right away. This keeps down some of the odor problems and possibly some of the jambing problems as well.

After running greasy items down the drain they should be followed by bulky or leafy things to help carry the grease down the drain and clean the residue from the unit. If there is nothing else to run down the drain several ice cubes can be used to help keep it clean.

There are many things that can be done to ensure that no small pieces of metal or plastic or other items get into the unit to cause problems. Remember to look at the bottom of dishes and other things put into the sink because when you stack these items the things that were on top of the items can now be clinging to the bottom of the item that was stacked on top.

Answer 2

One of the main problems with garbage disposals is the "garbage" label. They are not designed to take care of all your garbage that you would usually put in a garbage can. They are for rinsing food particles off of dishes and pots and pans. You aren't supposed to pour full plates or pots of food down them. Nor bones, napkins, full filters of coffee grounds, etc. This is how the hoses and traps get clogged with food. Use some common sense folks. Put bulky garbage where it belongs...in the can. Then scrape and rinse off the residue into the disposal. I've had to remove and unplug many a disposal that was abused. They have to be running when you are dropping food into them, with the water running also, or you can overload them when you attempt to start.

Answer 3

As someone else mentioned, you need to make sure you have a loop on the drain hose that rises to the level of your sink rim. Plumbing codes specify an air-gap device which prevents backup water from siphoning from you disposal into the dishwasher -- that's your best bet.

Sometimes the drain hose itself gets plugged up with bits of food. If necessary, clean it out with a stiff piece of wire, or remove it and clean it outside with a high pressure garden hose.

An important tip is to never put fibrous foods down the disposal. No onions, celery, cabbage, lettuce, etc. Throw that stuff away, or better - recycle in your compost pile. No large pieces of meat, fat or bones, either. And never pour grease or used cooking oil down your sink or disposal. Put that into an empty food can and put into your freezer until it is frozen solid, then toss in the garbage.

When running your disposal, run water during the grinding as well as after to flush all the debris down your drain pipes. From time to time, a 1/4 lemon peel can be dropped down the disposal to remove the smell.

Note that drain pipes in old houses often get clogged in various points - in bathrooms (hair & soap or shampoo clogs at sinks, showers and baths), and at the clothes washing machine drain (that lint has to go somewhere.) You might need a plumber to clean out your pipes with a mechanical auger to remove that debris. If not, it might block up back to your kitchen sink.

Answer 4

I have a disposal that works great! I love it and use it all the time. i have never had any problems, other than an occasional smell, which i fix by using a disposal cleaner product that most hardware stores will carry. i do it every so often and it keeps it smelling great. i have never had it back up, and it is great for cleaning up in the kitchen.

Answer 5

I wouldn't be without mine---it is the #1 item for a kitchen in my estimate. I use a cleaner they sell for cleaning them and if I am out of that I just run some shampoo or liquid detrgent while the water is running, down it. It has clogged up a few times, but they come with a special tool to loosen the clog and it works great. Never had it back up ever and have had one for 40 years. If someone told me I had to get rid of it, I would go bizirk!!!!! Thanks.

Answer 6

I desperately miss mine! I have lived my entire life with a garbage disposal, until moving into the house I'm in now.

I hate that I have to put everything in the garbage...my kitchen is definitely smellier now than ever before.

Answer 7

I honestly don't know what I'd do without one. They're cheap entertainment when I'm bored and key to cleaning up my kitchen. The smell can be taken care of with baking soda, and it'll only back up if you don't run it often enough. Even if it were to back up, I would guess the ol' grade school volcano experiment of baking soda and vinegar would probably clean it up pretty well.

Answer 8

if you dont have one you must rinse your dishes first, or the dishwasher will plug up, but i dont have a garbage disposal at all.

Answer 9

no i was cleaning one out and had a power surge i lost the tip of one finger