One of the best ways to turn environmentally friendly is to pay attention to your home’s waste disposal system. You can start assessing your contribution right from your kitchen. The leading wastewater plants convert the food waste into bio-fuel through anaerobic digestion. The solid remains come in handy as fertilizers. If you want to do something about your waste disposal habit, it can be the right time to pursue this. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that solid waste creates harmful gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Both these are responsible for global warming or climate change.
Seek conservation and comfort. Install a quality garbage disposal under your sink if you don’t want it to continue like this. Many models work on meats, corn cobs, ice, scrapped veggies, and others. They can move them to the septic tank or wastewater plant quickly. When they enter their destination, wastewater plants give them better treatment than composting. At the same time, you can thank your device for keeping your house free of unpleasant odor and waste that often attract critters.
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Types of Garbage Disposal Systems
No matter what you choose, you have to chew on your budget, household size, and the required amount of food grinding capacity. The machine can cost anywhere from USD $50 to USD $500, depending on the choice of the manufacturing company. Some brands offer them along with kitchen sinks. The cost-effective designs can feature a small motor, while a premium model can promise better performance. You can rely on the other variety to offer an excellent soundproof experience, sturdy stainless steel body, a combination of grinding functions, etc. Nevertheless, you can define them under two broad categories – continuous-feed and batch-feed.
Continuous-Feed vs. Batch-Feed Models
The continuous-feed garbage disposal motor can be your go-to choice if you want the most convenient system. You can add food waste even when the grinder is on. You find many varieties in them at a reasonable price. Besides, you get two options to power them. These include wall switches and air switches. You have to call a professional for installation help for the first option. Air switches don’t require expert intervention, but you may need some support with drilling and the under sink outlet.
As the name suggests, the batch-feed option allows you to add food scraps in batches. You have to run the motor after closing the drain opening. Since these don’t need wall switches, you can add them to kitchen islands. But these are expensive and limited choices. So it can be best to select the more user-friendly option like continuous-feed.
Common Garbage Disposal Features
There can be endless varieties, but you must focus on disposals that use stainless steel grind chambers and components. Steel can be helpful for their long age. Something with easy locking can be a hassle-free addition. You will not need a plumber help to install it. Another important factor can be insulation. If your model uses sound-deadening elements, you will not have to face the sound of the excess vibration caused at the time of grinding.
At the same time, know the horsepower required for its operation. You come across different types of motors with different power ratings. If you don’t want to compromise with quality, opt for anything that provides excellent sound insulation and higher horsepower. Some advanced models can feature automatic shut-off functions to avoid any mishap in the kitchen. So it can be a good idea to explore them. A typical home can use garbage disposals featuring ½ hp or ¾ hp. But if you are an avid cook, your demands can change. You may want a model to handle tough waste products like bones. For such jobs, a 1-hp model can be useful.
Things to consider when shopping for garbage disposals
You may not be sure about the proper size of the unit for your home. However, a few considerations can make your decisions easy. First of all, you have to determine your family size, whether two, four, six, or more people live together. With this, you have to check your cooking routine. Do you cook daily, weekly, a couple of times a week, or occasionally? The next thing can be the food items that you have to grind. You can categorize them into four groups.
- Chicken bones, raw meat, fruit pits, vegetable pieces, fruits, soft foods, cooked meat, leftovers, fish bones, etc.
- Cooked meat, vegetable pieces, fruits, fish bones, soft foods, leftovers, etc.
- Chicken bones, raw meat, fruit pits, vegetable pieces, fruits, soft foods, cooked meat, leftovers, rib bones, fish bones, etc.
- Soft foods, vegetable pieces, fruits, and leftovers.
Some experts say you can use 1/3 hp disposal if you are only one or two people and cooking is not a regular practice. Your food waste comes under the number four category. You can think about 1/2 hp if you are a family of one or two people who cook once a week. Your food waste mainly comprises items listed as number 2. A family of 2 to 4 individuals with frequent cooking adventures every week can opt for 3/4hp. It can be suitable for handling the types of waste listed under number 3. However, any family with more than four people that cooks daily may require a 1hp motor.
However, these are not hard and fast rules. Your immediate attention has to be on the brand and its quality product. Also, it will be better to avoid throwing tricky food items in the grinder. The device can soon give up due to overuse. With this, some more aspects can be worth noting. One of them is pipe health. If you face clogging issues often, you may want to stay away from disposal. Or replace the pipe to improve your waste handling and drainage system.
Another thing is that make sure your septic system is working fine by calling the septic system inspector before installing the garbage disposal. There must be enough room under the sink for its fitting. More precisely, invest in the proper device to improve your food waste disposal and handling experience.