Is any of this false? Is any of this true?

Is any of this false? Is any of this true?

"Most disposals of are of a builders-grade quality, and the blades rust off within two to four years.

Dull or rusted blades mean that your disposal may sound like it is working but it's not. The number one cause of kitchen singk clogs is old disposals.

Without sharp blades or blades at all, the food you put down there simply goes right into the drain, causing potential for future stoppage.

A simple test for most disposals is to take a flashlight and look down into it. Do you see rust and corrosion? Can you see any blades?"

This is part of a column in a local magazine, written by a plumber, who gives his email address and url.

Reply to
mm
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Q: "Most disposals of are of a builders-grade quality, and the blades rust off within two to four years.

A. You would have to have some extreme water chemistry issues going on for that to be truthful... So bad in fact that your copper water piping would be springing leaks if you sneezed too hard or slammed a door...

Q. Dull or rusted blades mean that your disposal may sound like it is working but it's not. The number one cause of kitchen sink clogs is old disposals.

A. Dull blades would mean your disposal would have to work harder and longer to clear what you put down into it... Rusted blades ? Well I mean that could effect performance maybe but not by much a rusty knife will still cut things...

As far as the number one cause of kitchen sink clogs being old disposals, I would disagree, it more often has to do with what is being ground up by the disposal and the failure to allow enough time to wash the ground up food particles through your home's drain lines... I have seen problems especially in homes where Rice is a major portion of the diet with ground up Rice sticking in the drain lines and reforming into a solid clog if it is allowed to sit in the pipe... It all depends on where the clog forms... Clogs are less likely with any disposal if you allow the water to run for a little bit of time after the disposal clears itself of food waste...

Q. Without sharp blades or blades at all, the food you put down there simply goes right into the drain, causing potential for future stoppage.

A. It is not so much that the blades are sharp, it is that they are there sweeping around the perforated edges of the disposal to grind the food against that outer edge... Works by brute force sort of like the grinding machines which can turn an old car into confetti...

It is true that smaller food stuffs like rice grains can sometimes fit past the perforations in the outer edge of the disposal chamber and yes they would be more likely to clog your pipes especially farther down the drain lines if any hair gets past the traps in your bathroom fixtures...

Q. A simple test for most disposals is to take a flashlight and look down into it. Do you see rust and corrosion? Can you see any blades?

A. The "blades" are usually two short and strong pieces of darker metal bolted onto the steel disc at the bottom of your disposal... Most people who might be looking into their disposal with a flashlight might not know that the "blades" along with the perforated disc are what get rid of the food, it is not like a food processor which has actual sharp blades or anything like that... If you could visibly see rust or corrosion in your disposal you have water chemistry issues you need to deal with or you are looking into an extremely old disposal...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

re: "The "blades" are usually two short and strong pieces of darker metal bolted onto the steel disc at the bottom of your disposal"

Those parts are commonly referred to as the impellers, not blades.

re: "Most disposals of are of a builders-grade quality, and the blades rust off within two to four years."

I can't imagine that anyone would claim that the impellers would rust off in 2 to 4 years. They ask "Can you see any blades?" For the impellers to completely disappear in 2 to 4 years is pretty close to impossible.

By blades, I assume that they are referring to the sharp protrusions on the shredder ring.

That said, for the shredder ring to have lost all it's "blades" in 2 to 4 years seems a bit far fetched also.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Right, when most people hear blade, they think of a blender or food processor.

IIUC they just hit the food, beat it to death, they don't cut it.

So there either are no blades, or nothing that looks like what most people think blades look like. Yet he wants people to judge their disposal by its blades.

It seems so far to me that this guy is lying to get business.

What about these words, "Very loud disposals indicate cheaper models, that don't last very long. Definitely have a plumber come out and look at it... Replacing a disposal today will prevent a stoppage later on"

And for the first question he answers, for someone whose toilet runs, "You should have your toilet checked for other potential problems. Many people don't consider all the parts in the tank that can wear out over time and can cause an even more serious leak through your ceiling. A good plumber will assess the overall condition of your toilet and if it's an older model, can give you options on replacing it with a lower consumption toilet that will save you even more money in the end."

I'm a friend of a friend of the publisher of the magazine, and I know she's an honorable woman who probalby knows nothing about plumbing. She probably thinks she's doing a community service by running this column, and helping an honest guy get business, and I think maybe I should strip off the names and send her the comments here, or get her to check this stuff out with a good plumber (Athough I don't know who. I havent' needed a plumber since I've been here and I don't know any.) Should I email her?

Reply to
mm

re: "So there either are no blades, or nothing that looks like what most people think blades look like. Yet he wants people to judge their disposal by its blades."

re: " IIUC they just hit the food, beat it to death, they don't cut it"

Some sites do refer to the protrusions on the shredder disk as blades and that's what I think he is referring to. The impellers force the food up against the shredder disk where the "blades" shred the food into smaller pieces.

I wouldn't argue if someone called that "cutting it".

I'm not a plumber, and I haven't seen all that many disposals, although I've installed a few. All I'm saying is that claiming that

*most* disposals only last 2 - 4 years because the "blades" rust off of the shredder disk seems like a stretch to me. Maybe that's because I've never installed a low-end disposal.
Reply to
DerbyDad03

Load of crap. My builder grade one quite after 10 years or so. Nothing was wrong with the macerator, the motor quit. Disposals don't have anything particularly sharp in them, they just beat the food to a pulp..

Reply to
jamesgangnc

And not only that: "

If the disposal can't beat the food up enough, the food never gets out of the disposal, does it? It doesn't clog the pipes below it, iirc, because it doesnt' get there. You have to turn the switch off, maybe the breaker too, put your hand in the disposal and pull out the stuff that isn't chopped up.

Reply to
mm

False.

False -- IMO, the number one cause of kitchen sink clogs is user error: people trying to shove too much stuff down the disposal, or stuff that shouldn't be put down the disposal at all.

False. The food has to be ground up at least to some extent in order to make it out of the disposal. Without blades at all, the stuff will just stay there in the disposal.

False. Rust on the blades won't prevent a disposal from working. And "Can you see any blades?" What nonsense. I've had garbage disposals in nearly every house or apartment I've lived in, and _never once_ have the blades worn away, fallen out, been raptured, rusted away, been stolen, or whatever else the author of this nonsense imagines might happen to cause them to disappear.

If I needed I plumber, I'd hire one of his competitors.

Reply to
Doug Miller

With even the cheapest disposals lasting 5-10 years, I'd say it is bunk. The biggest problem today seems to be the outer housing being made of plastic, and something poking a hole in it when it gets jammed between the impellers and the outer housing. Or at least that has been the case in the last several I have replaced. Today, they range from $40 to $400. And I think you get what you pay for. And some people leave stuff in there for days before switching it on, waiting until it won't drain as a sign it needs emptying. That could create a corrosive environment that would speed up things.

Steve

Heart surgery pending?

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Reply to
Steve B

re: "False. The food has to be ground up at least to some extent in order to make it out of the disposal. Without blades at all, the stuff will just stay there in the disposal. "

No wait - here's a scenario:

The blades on the shredder disk rusted away leaving large gaping holes in the sides of the disposal and items the size of small cars can make their way into the drain. It could happen. ;-)

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I have had one blade break apart in a cheap disposal, a mobile home. Replaced it with a good one.

Reply to
Michael Dobony

Consumer Reports has the skinny on what is fact and what is BS. Over all, it seems that bargain disposers work, but not as well or as long as the better grade. It's your money and your choice.

Joe

Joe

Reply to
Joe

Thanks Derby Dad and thanks, everyone.

I thought the only part that could leak without the user noticing it is the wax ring, and that normally they last forever. Until you remove the toilet for some other reason.

So isn't this false too that all the parts wear out over time and can cause an even more serious leak?????

I've never had a leak from the tank either, except into the bowl, which doesn't hurt my ceiling.

How long does the wax ring normally last?

Reply to
mm

Good answers.

Personally, I think, some people tend to treat their GD like trash cans and a lot of the drain clogging issues could be solved by throwing waste in the trash. Some women (I won't mention any names here) think the GD is a magic device that can dispose of anything. Common sense tells you that overuse can lead to problems. It doesn't help when some cities actually encourage GD use to feed their green agendas.

Jim

Reply to
JimT

We all know who you're talking about.

Reply to
mm

I would copy this thread and send it to the publiisher of the local magazine, politely telling her that the plumber is way off base and she is hurting the reputation of the magazine by publishing such garbage. The plumber might be paying to have the column run as a subliminal form of advertising, Then the publisher has a real dilemma.

Reply to
hrhofmann

re: "I thought the only part that could leak without the user noticing it is the wax ring,

and

re: "I've never had a leak from the tank either, except into the bowl, which doesn't hurt my ceiling. "

It may not hurt your ceiling but it could hurt your bank account.

If the tank leaks into the bowl, then eventually the tank will need to refill. It's very possible that you might not notice it depending on where the toilet is located and how often you use it. That's just wasted water.

There are innards with a "leak sentry" - basically a clip and chain that prevents the float from goin down unless the handle is used. You'd eventually notice the leak with one of those because the tank could conceivably empty out completely.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I've never had a garbage disposal - or a clogged kitchen sink. Food scraps always go in the garbage can. I don't get garbage disposals. Why do they exist?

--Vic

Reply to
Vic Smith

For the convenience of those of us who don't want to scrap every last piece of waste off of our plates before washing them.

Easily scrapeable (sp?) big stuff I scrape. Stuck on bits of lettuce, stray kernals of corn, and the pieces of pasta left in the pot I rinse into the disposal.

Unless of course I feel that the built in disposal in the dishwasher can handle it.

To each his own.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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