Do Kitchen Sinks Need Garbage Disposals? 

Garbage disposals are very convenient as they help homeowners to clean plates directly into the kitchen sink instead of the trash can. As a result, they have become increasingly popular in newer kitchens and townhouses or apartments with smaller kitchens. Also, they’re a great option for homeowners who are not in a position to compost as they provide a clean, fast way to get rid of food waste. But does this mean every home must have a garbage disposal? Do kitchen sinks even need garbage disposals in the first place? 

Perhaps this article will help you determine whether a garbage disposal is the right option for your kitchen sink or NOT! 

Basics of Garbage Disposals 

In essence, garbage disposals work by pulverizing food scraps into finer particles that can easily go through the drainage system. For instance, when you throw eggshells and apple pees into the disposal, turn on the faucet, and flip the switch, the food scraps are knocked back and forth inside the grinding chamber until they’re small enough to pass through the drainage pipes without clogging the plumbing system. 

The easiest way to determine if your kitchen sink needs a garbage disposal is to consider the amount of food waste produced in your home. For instance, if your family makes 3 or more meals a week and you’ve some food waste each, a food disposal unit is a good addition as it will help you get rid of the food scraps. Even better, this will make it easier to maintain your kitchen sink and get rid of kitchen waste. 

However, this doesn’t mean that a garbage disposal is a mandatory kitchen appliance. After all, you’ll get an extra space under the sink if you don’t install a garbage disposal. Not to mention other drawbacks of garbage disposals you’ll be avoiding if you don’t install one under your kitchen sink. 

To be fair though, garbage disposals have both benefits and drawbacks. Hopefully, understanding the pros and cons of these appliances will help you determine if it’s the right fit for your kitchen. 

Benefits of garbage disposals 

• Promotes a cleaner kitchen 

An in-sink garbage disposal provides a fast, simple, and hygienic way of getting rid of food scraps from your kitchen. As a result, you’ll end up saving a lot of time when you need to clean up after cooking & eating. Even better, this appliance reduces the amount of food waste you toss in the trash. Not to forget that it’s a great alternative to composting if you don’t have the time or space to compost in your kitchen. 

• Prevents food odors 

Another benefit of using a garbage disposal is that it helps to cut down on bad odors in the kitchen by ensuring food scraps do not rot in the trash can. At the same time, this method of waste disposal is environmentally friendly as it reduces the amount of trash sent to landfills. Plus, this means you will go through trash bags more slowly, helping you save money in the long run. 

• Convenient 

When used properly, garbage disposals allow for the convenient and hassle-free handling of food waste, eliminating the need to store garbage in trash cans until the pickup day. Also, the unit will minimize wear and tear on your dishwasher by getting rid of junk and waste that would otherwise end up in the dishwashing machine. 

Drawbacks of garbage disposals 

• Clogs and jams 

Although garbage disposals aren’t designed to handle all types of food scrap, the list of forbidden items can sometimes be confusing. For that, it’s important to familiarize yourself with what you can put and what you cannot put in a garbage disposal. Or else you’ll end up clogging and jamming your garbage disposal unit. 

For instance, stringy, fibrous food waste like banana peels, coconut shells, corn husks, celery, and asparagus tend to wrap around the garbage disposal, causing it to jam. Similarly, meat products like meat skin and bones can dull the blade, clog the garbage disposal, and make the kitchen smelly. In addition, starchy food items like potato peels, pasta, and rice usually form a gunk that jams the garbage disposal blades and clogs the drain. 

• Increases water wastage 

Every garbage disposal requires running water to flush food waste down the drain after grinding. As a result, you’ll end up wasting a lot of water every time you use a garbage disposal to get rid of food items, most of which could be put to better use by composting. 

To be precise, most kitchen sinks use an average of 2 water gallons per minute. Therefore, if you take into account the average time the disposal unit takes to grill and flush food, you can get an idea of how much water you waste every time you run it. 

To reduce the amount of water wasted when running a garbage disposal, try composting as many food items as possible. For instance, you can compost food items like egg shells, tea bags, crackers, fruit & vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and stale bread instead of throwing them down the disposal unit. 

• Smelly garbage disposal

While garbage disposals can help to reduce foul odors coming from the kitchen, they can become smelly over time, especially if they’re not cleaned regularly. Also, the garbage disposal can develop a foul odor if it’s clogged by putting forbidden food items down the drain. Luckily, there are various ways to fix a smelly garbage disposal such as adding citrus juice, baking soda, and citrus peels to deodorize the unit. However, this will mean extra cost for maintenance, which is another drawback of installing a garbage disposal under your kitchen sink. 

• Adds extra waste in water treatment facilities and septic systems

Lastly, disposing of food waste down the drain using garbage disposal adds extra waste in water treatment facilities and septic systems. This food waste then creates a sludge that is difficult to process, forcing the waste treatment facility to use more energy and chemicals to treat the wastewater. And for those who drain the waste into a septic tank, this sludge increases the amount of solids in the tank, leading to expensive and messy repairs. 

Final Word 

Having a garbage disposal under your kitchen sink is a great idea as it provides an effective way to get rid of common food scraps by shredding them into small pieces. Thus allowing them to easily pass through the plumbing system without clogging the drainage system. Better yet, installing one is both easy and affordable as there are great garbage disposal units on the market. 

However, these units have their set of drawbacks as well. For that, it’s important to consider the type of food you’ll be putting down the drain regularly when choosing a garbage disposal. That way, you will easily find a garbage disposal that will fit your lifestyle perfectly!