Replace Disposer in sink- yes or no?

Kugglegirl

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 1:42 pm

I have 2 sinks, fleshig & milchig, each with disposers. I have 3 big kids & husband who help a lot in the kitchen, but are maybe not as "detail oriented" about what they do as a balabasta might be.

At least 2x per year someone puts something down one or the other of these disposers that gets stuck & even after I do what I can, I have to call a plumber & that is usually $150.

Now, for the second time, a kid broke a dish in the sink, and did not get all the pieces out & then the disposer was run & now the disposer is broken, which means replacement, not just a service call.

This is in the Milchig sink & I am considering not replacing the disposer, just putting a regular drain with catcher. Possibly I can ask the plumber about putting an easy- open catch or something in the pipe at the bottom so I can pull out the inevitably lost items & bad clogs without needing to call him every single time.

Also, we compost, so there is really no reason all the vegetable stuff should be going down the sink any way.

What are the drawbacks to putting in a drain instead of a disposer? How annoying or not so annoying?

What would you do?

(I guess all that common core math problem solving will come in handy now, right?)

imasinger

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 4:14 pm

I love our disposal, but I don't compost, and after a few years of the annoyance you describe, we got a high powered one.

Pros: Easy to toss food waste, and probably better than trashng it in plastic bags.

Usually quick and easy.

Less smelly than composting

Cons: Can't use on Shabbos/YT.

Can clog.

Some things are more likely to cause clogs, so you have to think about what you throw where (onion peels, some rinds ot stems)

Costs to buy, install, repair.

Not as good fo environment as composting.

Frumdoc

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 7:27 pm

gp2.0 wrote:

I've never had a problem with clogs in the kitchen sink and I've never had a disposal. I scrape plates, cutting boards etc. into the garbage first before placing them in the sink.

This.

No true Dr who fan would ever use a waste disposer (Paradise Towers, 1987, Sylvester McCoy)

Kugglegirl

Thu, Oct 08 2015, 11:31 pm

Thanks. The feedback is very helpful.

It turns out that my genius plumber was able to extract all the china pieces, as well as some bread bag clips that were in there. & this is the plumber who has, I think, rachmanis on me, with all the kids who keep clogging the plumbing in various ways & so he charges me less per visit than the other plumbers.

(maybe he just sees that we are a steady client....)

Anyhow, I think if it does really break beyond repair, that will be the end of it.

My best to you all. Shalom.