Living without a garbage disposal

[Mike]

A month or so ago I made a post here about my broken in-sink garbage disposal. A good number of replies to that post were from people who do not use a garbage disposal. Well, for a couple reasons, I have decided not to replace my disposal for the time being. Instead, I bought a $3 sink screen. It's taken a little while to get used to living w/o the disposal (breaking the habit of scraping left-over food into the sink before placing the dishes in the dishwasher, etc.), but it's working just fine and we don't really miss the disposal now.

Anyway, thanks to the good folks here at AHR for the idea!

Mike

[Shaun]

Your callous, self-centered disregard of our precious environment has been noted and duly reported...

[Mike]

Much obliged.

Mike

[mike]

By all means, enjoy scraping gunk, scum, and crud out of the the drain with your fingers several times a day.

How delightful.

[HeyBub]

Barbarian.

[Mike]

The little screen that sits in the drain catches the gunk, scum, and crud (and Cheerios). I just tap it into the garbage can in the evening. Not a big deal.

Thanks for your interest.

Mike

[mike]

And the stuff that goes past the lip and gets deposited underneath? Do you just hope it decomposes after a few months?

Further, your little drain basket only holds a tiny amount. When you produce larger amounts of waste than the basket can hold, you get to scoop and scrape crap out of the sink with your hands.

I know, I know, you do all your peeling and food prep in the garbage can.

[Frank]

A few years ago, we got by without replacing our broken one for a few months but eventually sink clogged and we got a new one. With septic, we seldom use it except when sink is slow to drain.

[DerbyDad03]

re: "I just tap it into the garbage can in the evening."

Then I go back to the sink and rinse what didn't come off down the drain. I'll be back asking for a disposal recommendations in a few months.

Ta-Ta for now.

[mike]

LOL.

[NGDirect]

The wife use to yell at me for NOT using the disposal. I scrap as much as possible into the trash, and then clean the regular sink screen several times while rinsing the dishes before placing them in the DW. My theory is that what manages to wash thru the screen is probably as small as what the disposal was outputing any way. We've never had any problems with clogged pipes. The main secret is to let the water run a few seconds (and I mean seconds, not minutes) to ensure there is enough flow to wash the stuff on out of the trap and into the main line. Nothing I put down the kitchen sink compares in size to what I flush down after a good poop, so if the sewer system can handle a good load from the toilet, I doubt it will have a major problem with the stuff that sneaks down the drain from the kitchen!

[aemeijers]

Lack of a disposal hasn't been a problem in the five years I've been in this house. I thought I would miss it, after having one for 25 years, but I barely noticed it. If I was building or remodeling, I'd probably put one in, but it is near the bottom of the list of stuff to refresh or add around here. In all odds, it will be the next owner's problem.

I bought one of those little mesh screens for my sister last time I visited, because even with a high-end disposal, her exuberant food prep habits led to the thing being jammed 2-3 times a week. Seeds, silverware, bits of food processors, etc. Me, I'm just careful, and peel my veggies over the trash can. And no, it doesn't stink.

[norminn]

I'm with you....never had a disposal until I moved to Florida. I think they are more trouble than they are worth. If I had a garden, I'd compost some stuff. There is very little that goes into our disposal that would not be just as easy to put in the trash. I learned the hard way that a load of potato peels put through the disposal choke the sewer :o) There is very little else in our home that could go into a disposal but not straight down the drain.

[Han]

Mike wrote in news:d590043c-417f-45ac-bd53- [e-mail]:

What's a garbage disposal?

[Phisherman]

If you can start a compost pile for those items you normally put down the disposal, all the better. We have a garbage disposal but it is not used often.

[FatterDumber& Happier Moe]

This defiantly isn't for everyone but what I did,..... No garbage disposal, I cut the little cross bars out of the drain on one side of the two compartment sink. The waste line I drilled a hole through the outside wall, it gets better, then you guessed it, the kitchen sink drains on the ground outside! I've got a few pieces of plastic pipe and connect them longer or shorter and move them around when the mood hits me and it's been interesting. Greenest grass in the yard by far, the dog has learned to run outside when I'm cleaning pans because there might be some good grease coming out, and this year volunteer tomato plants are growing. I did dig some of the now nutrient rich dirt out and exchanged it with dirt from the garden. I've thought of making a little above ground septic tank and allow only "clear water" out and use a hose to run the water on out to the garden but I don't use that much water, dish washer is hooked in of course but I don't run it very often, maybe once every two weeks. Most dishes I just wash by hand. Sure makes for some nice rich soil.

[Spork]

thanks for the tip on the screens! The stoppers don't seem to work that well or just end up sealing the drain when I'm trying to pour something down. Sometimes I pour stuff in the back yard to keep it from clogging.

[aemeijers]

Chuckle- me, too. The juice from empty pickle jars with all the seeds, especially. I wipe the casserole pans I nuke chicken breasts in with a paper towel, to keep the grease out of the drains. I call it the chicken's revenge- that stuff likes to build up in the joints and elbows of a sink drain, and any other debris gets glued together.

-- aem sends...

[terry]

Smart move and wise decision IMO. We similarly had one some 50 years ago because someone had given us a brand new one. We lived in trailer home at the time. One day the sewer blocked, we ran the disposer and a plume of kitchen leftovers and dish-washing water went high in the air above the trailer! And then 'splat'. In the two regular homes we have built and lived in since, both initially on septic tank/disposal fields we didn't bother with what seems to be an unnecessary and possibly environmentally unfriendly gadget, which inevitably requires further maintenance!

[mkirsch1]

Only if you're a wasteful slob.

1. Eat the food on your plate. If you find your plate is still half full when you're done eating on a regular basis, you may be cooking too much food. Cook less, or take less from the serving dish and put the rest in the fridge for leftovers tomorrow.
2. Scrape off what little is left into the trash. If you find that you are scraping large amounts of food into the trash on a regular basis, see #1.
3. All that's left should be liquid, such as meat juice, a bit of stray ketchup or worcestershire sauce, maybe some melted ice cream after dessert. This will dissolve in the spray from the sink faucet and go right down the drain. No gunk, no scum, no crud.
4. Food cay be peeled and prepped over the sink, using the sink as a catch-basin for peelings and scraps. These peelings should be transferred to the trash as soon as preparation is complete. You are transferring FRESH vegetable peelings, egg shells, meat trimmings. Again, no gunk, no scum, no crud. Come on, you just had your hands on these items not more than a few minutes ago... How "icky" could they have possibly gotten in that little bit of time?

I've gotten by for 34 of the last 36 years with no garbage disposal, and have never, not once, run into this contrived problem. The two years I had a garbage disposal, it was nice, when it worked. Roommate kept dropping shot glasses down it and turning it on.