Garbage Disposals

A garbage disposal, also known as a waste disposal unit, is an electrically powered unit installed under a kitchen sink between the sink's drain and the trap which shreds food waste into bits tiny enough to pass through the plumbing. Garbage disposal units are very popular in America, and are beginning to get really popular in Europe.

Many standard disposal units allow a dishwasher to be connected, and some come already equipped with a built-in garbage disposal unit and both styles allow the dishwasher to be used without the tedium of scraping your dishes before using the dishwasher.

John W. Hammes invented the garbage disposal in 1927. After eleven years of development, his In-Sink-Erator Company put his new invention on the market in 1938.

In many American cities the municipal sewage system had regulations against putting food waste into the system. In-Sink-Erator spent a great deal of effort, and was very successful in convincing many places to get rid of these prohibitions. After a while, many areas actually mandated the use of garbage disposers. Garbage disposal units became very popular in American kitchens in the 1970s and 1980s, mainly in the kitchens of the more wealthy and affluent folks. They aren’t used in European countries as much because more people prefer to do composting of their kitchen waste.



Food waste is fed into a chamber above a thing called the turntable, and falls onto the turntable and is ground up by the blades. The chamber may have a rubber cover through which the food waste can be pushed into the garbage disposal but it keeps things like forks, spoons, knives, and other objects from falling in. In case something gets jammed in the turntable it can be forced round by pushing with a wooden spoon handle or something like it until you get the jam cleared. Food waste that cannot be ground successfully can be removed by hand.

Most garbage disposals are the continuous-feed types that allow food waste to be fed into the garbage disposal as it runs. There are the “Batch-feed” types of garbage disposals that are also available that have a lid that has to be locked before operation. This makes it impossible to run the garbage disposal when someone is trying to clear a jam by hand thus making it much safer to use and preventing horrible accidents.

These are the two options of types of garbage disposals that you want to keep in mind if you are shopping for a garbage disposal. The latter of these two model types is the best choice for families that have small children who are at the age of climbing into places where they shouldn’t be.