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?
They shouldn’t make a gross smelly area under your sink. It sounds like yours was leaking.
Or had a backflow issue
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.
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
A cup full of ice cubes once a week keeps mine clean
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.
They were never a thing in Europe.
The sewage treatment is not built to handle that kind of stuff. The sewage pipes aren’t too happy about it, either. I might flush some carbs down the toilet. The poop-munching bacteria at the treatment plant get a nice growth boost from it. Grease not only clogs your own pipes, but causes issues for the whole city. I think it’s possible to get fined for it if you’d get caught starting a year or two back.
Food waste goes in the trash or compost. If it goes in the trash it’s burned at industrial temperatures to burn clean. The heat is used for district heating networks.
Yeah, grease and oil kills plumbing
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.
Big stuff straight into the trash. Little stuff into the sink strainer. It all settles to the middle of the strainer. Pick up the strainer and dump it into the trash.
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.
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.
ive never lived in a house or apt without one. they seem ubiquitous to me. seems weird there wouldnt be one.
We have one, I like it. Never gross smelling, keeps the drains clear, seems to help the dishwasher run better.
As a Canadian, the idea of a garbage disposal in a sink has always been insane to me. It can be hard to believe that Americans just grind up stuff and send it down their sink drain.
What’s insane about it? You eat food and your waste goes to the sewer. The garbage disposal does the same just without it passing through you. Also they’re only really used for scraps (egg shells, vegetable peels/trimmings, bits from rinsing dishes, etc) it isn’t like you’re dumping a whole plate of spaghetti down your sink. If you don’t have room for composting then the only alternative is throwing that stuff in the trash.
You’re a biological garbage disposal and your shit goes down the same sanitary sewer line. It’s just food scraps like peels, stems, and trimmings. Hardly qualifies as ‘insane’.
They seem more common now if anything
I’m not sure what extra cleaning you’re talking about but if you use them once in a while they don’t stink
I’ve always had one in every place I live. Even the shitty apartment I had one was installed.
I worked in apartment maintenance for a bit. That is a requirement for low income housing, at least in California. If it doesn’t have one or it stops working for any reason, the tenant can claim unlivable living conditions and not pay rent until it’s fixed. This is true for many types of problems but you asked about garbage disposals. Also the property could potentially lose the designation of low income housing which means losing the federal/state subsidy. Most tenants don’t know about this and choose to move out instead after a few rent increases. On the other hand there is a list of “problem tenants” that landlords share and if you end up on it then good luck finding a new place to rent.
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.
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 found a solid metal strainer, not mesh for my sink. Holds up forever and much easier to clean. Even if you have a disposal, its not great to just dump everything down the drain [citation needed]. You especially want to catch things like small bones and forks.
The disposals seem common enough, a lot older/outdated homes don’t have them. I have no idea what they’re putting into new houses and renovations.
Never had an under the sink mess like you describe, maybe yours just had a small leak?
