Regarding kitchen sink garbage disposals:

1. My wife puts ice cubes into the kitchen sink garbage disposal to "clean" it. I say, it may or may not help clean it, but it probably DULLs the blades.

What about that, who's right ?

2. I told my wife that since we don't purposely shove vegetables down our drain, that a garbage disposal is actually unnecessary, and that it actually COLLECTS trash, instead of allowing the little bit of food and raw veggie particles that do get through to make their way into the sewer system as normal.

What about that, who's right ?

Not sure about ice cubes dulling. To "clean" and freshen up our disposal I put lemons and limes through ours after squeezing for the juice. The citrus smells good. I don't think they "collect" garbage, as long as you run water through it when grinding and wash it all through. I would only use with city sewer and never with a septic system.

Haha….I think you are both wrong.

I don’t think putting ice cubes in it will “clean” it. No different than water. I think I have heard it is good to put cut up lemons in it and then run it to help clean it.

I think a garbage disposal is necessary and useful. I too try not to put anything down the drain. I wipe off the plate into the trash, but still it does get clogged and turning on the garbage disposal clears it right up.

Yeah I was always told to never run a garbage disposal dry. Always have the water running when you turn it on.

After the dishwasher, the garbage disposal is the least used appliances in our kitchen. After going through a couple of Wastekings in about 10 years, I didn't install one when we remodeled. Spent the saving toward a deep single basin sink. A good properly fitted stainer kept large waste from going down the drain.

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:
Not sure about ice cubes dulling. To "clean" and freshen up our disposal I put lemons and limes through ours after squeezing for the juice. The citrus smells good. I don't think they "collect" garbage, as long as you run water through it when grinding and wash it all through. I would only use with city sewer and never with a septic system.

Why not a septic system ? My garbage disposal has been emptying into a septic system for at least the last 15 years since I've owned the house. How is that a problem or potential problem ?

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
Haha….I think you are both wrong.

I don’t think putting ice cubes in it will “clean” it. No different than water. I think I have heard it is good to put cut up lemons in it and then run it to help clean it.

I agree. We run any citrus, lemon, lime or orange peels and it seems to freshen it right up.
If I ever felt a little more cleaning was necessary, maybe pour some baking soda, then run it while pouring some vinegar? But I never felt that to have become necessary so far.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:
Not sure about ice cubes dulling. To "clean" and freshen up our disposal I put lemons and limes through ours after squeezing for the juice. The citrus smells good. I don't think they "collect" garbage, as long as you run water through it when grinding and wash it all through. I would only use with city sewer and never with a septic system.

Why not a septic system ? My garbage disposal has been emptying into a septic system for at least the last 15 years since I've owned the house. How is that a problem or potential problem ?

Maybe its not a problem if you have it pumped out every few years. I was guessing some things might not totally break down in the septic system. I use a disposal in our main home connected to sewer and do not use one in our cabin which is connected to septic. YMMV.

I think the manual said something about using ice cubes to improve the edges of the blades.

As far as blade maintenance, I throw a few beer bottles and ice in the disposal. Maybe it keeps the blades sharp, don’t know. It just became a thing when my buddy and I filled the recycle bin, and thought “maybe the disposal can eat a bottle?” Well, it can. In whole, I just put them in neck first. Use the top to a cooking pan to cover the hole and keep the glass from escaping. Throw a lemon or two in whole to help with the cleaning.

As far as the little bits collecting, if your disposal is a piece of shit, it probably will. The ones I have had, the base place is filled with a bunch of holes, to let the little bits wash through. If the bits are big enough to clog, turn it on and run some water.

The house we moved into last year has septic. I don’t have the joy in life of having a disposal. Now I throw all that shit in the trash. It makes the trash stink. I never had stinky trash, and my outside can was always immaculate. Not anymore.

Enjoy your disposal.

I’ve been on septic more often than not. Yes, one can have a disposal with a septic system, though it’s not ideal.

Most will say, the fewer ‘solids’(or mush) going to the tank & drain field, the better. Is the system gonna ‘fail’ with periodic use of a garbage disposal, no. It’s a matter of degrees, that’s why tanks get routinely pumped, remove solids, which of course aren’t solid anymore.

We have sewer, not septic. The house was built in '65. We try NOT to put anything in the disposal because we're trying to keep the pipe from the house to the sewer line in the street from clogging up (over time). That repair bill would be on us; some of our neighbors have already had to do this. Most waste goes in the garbage can; a screen over the disposal catches almost all the rest. Only a very small amount of solid material goes in and out to the street. We also do that Dawn dishwashing liquid down the drain thing once a month to help keep it clear of grease and oils.

I looked up the design once. They don't have "blades" per se. They have an impeller, but garbage is ground between two cylinders. I try to run the water thoroughly when using it. About once a month, I throw in a large capsule containing concentrated lemon scent in it. Mostly, I don't use it much. We have little food waste, and the trash can isn't such a hike.

They make dedicated garbage disposer cleaner packs that have worked great for us. Drop one in, run water, turn on and it's a big foamy cleaning event that leaves the blades and presumably mechanism almost pristine.

My parents had a disposal connected to city sewer after about 1978. My grand parents both had disposals in their homes that predated that.
I had one in my home when I bought it and replaced it at the 15 year mark. The intent of the machine is to grind up the food waste and turn it into a slurry. You should always use cold water to assure fats and such are congealed and go as part of the slurry.

I've never had an issue with clogged pipes. I typically don't dispose of things wholesale in it, unless they are of date and I know they'll stink in the garbage. It's mostly for the food scraps that are generated during cooking prep and after.

I will say that you NEVER want to put crab (any type) shells or lobster shells in a food disposer. All that does is make a colossal mess.

As far as cleaning... I've done the ice thing, not sure if it helped or not. I think the idea is it collects any fats and such that might be in there and flushes it out. Mostly I do it due to the ice being old. I've also just had it running with cold water and squirted some dish soap down the hole. That seems to take care of any odors.


For the OP questions

Ice for cleaning - Not sure but it doesn't seem to hurt it.

Collecting food waste - It's designed to create a slurry and expel the ground up food particles out your normal system. Given that it's food it will biodegrade naturally. Whether that helps or hurts in waste water treatment process I have no idea. I've also never heard of any city speaking out against their general use.

quote:

Originally posted by TXLe:
After going through a couple of Wastekings in about 10 years...

How the hell did you do that?? Were you grinding whole yak carcasses or something?

-Rob

I have a theory that the solid ice chunks help push pureed food out of the disposal chamber, and it seems like I heard that. But I have done no controlled experiments to know if this is true.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
Why not a septic system? ... How is that a problem or potential problem ?

It adds solids to the system that do not break down as readily as human waste.

If you research it, you'll find the common recommendation is not to use a garbage disposal with a septic system or, if you do, use it only sparingly.

We dont use our disposal that much anymore. Not sure why but we just dont seem to. I do know that the additional load of food and vegetables that have been introduced into the wastewater treatment system (assuming you are on the street and not septic) has made wastewater treatment a more difficult and expensive proposition.

Also the inclusion of antibiotics and other medicines that people pour down the drain has created difficulties as well. Antibiotics are particularly difficult to filter and treat. My understanding is that a reverse osmotic systems are capable of performing antibiotic removal but most cities cant afford them due to cost, complexity and the electrical power demands these systems require.

So in short....throw it in the trash if its large leftover food bits and for goodness sake dont put rice down the disposal either.

It’s kinda a habit pattern. Yeah, with some it’s easier to grind it down the drain. It doesn’t take much to just use a sink screen & throw particles in the trash.

I actually put things like eggshells, coffee grounds, & vegetable trimmings in my compost pile which later goes in the garden.

I’ve seen those raised with a disposable expect it as the norm, that’s ok too.

I think I’d use something softer than ice to ‘clean’ the blades.

Use ours all the time, food doesn't go in the trash, it stinks, can attract ants, and when bagged even in the can, the local monster raccoons will tear into them and make a mess.

Had one on septic when we were growing up, never caused an issue, just be sure to run cold water, run though it when disposing of food items.