Garbage Disposal-yes or no?

[battykat]

Hi, we are finally nearing the end of our kitchen remodel in our new (old) bungalow. Three different people (2 plumbers and an electrician) have said we shouldn't put in a garbage disposal because they are likely to cause clogs in the plumbing in the house. If we put one in, we don't plan on shoving our entire dinner scraps down the drain.. we'd just use it as a back up for stuff that might sneak it's way into the sink. Any opinions/past experience out there on this?

[Nancy K.]

I don't live in Berwyn any more;  have you checked to see if garbage disposals are allowed?    I run  lots of water before turning mine  off after use,  and there are no clogs.  Good  luck.

[exPROPer]

A plumber told us (after it went in) that garbage disposals are the bread and butter of his business.  A constant source of income because they regularly get clogged.  We rarely use it after hearing that.

[Guy_on_Clinton]

opt for a deeper sink instead.

we did a full gut of our kitchen a few years ago and we had disposer on our checklist... but we decided to go with a nicer & deeper undermount sink....  we tried to add a disposer but because it was so low, it wouldnt drain right.. so we axed it.

[Bonster]

opt for a deeper sink instead.

we did a full gut of our kitchen a few years ago and we had disposer on our checklist... but we decided to go with a nicer & deeper undermount sink....  we tried to add a disposer but because it was so low, it wouldnt drain right.. so we axed it.

Opt for a dual sink.  Larger, deeper tub on one side, smaller, shallow tub on the other.  Made for disposals.


If you have them replace the horizontal run to the soil stack you'll have no problems.  It's those old mucked up pipes that people in older homes with garbage disposals tend to have trouble with.

[chandasz]

We've rarely had issues with ours and love it

[berwyn senator]

I would ask this question,kitchen sinks,laundry tubs all dump into a catch basin would a disposal have any effect on these homes?I have no idea.

[battykat]

Well the sink has been purchased - it's a standard depth, but it is a dual basin - I hadn't thought of the physical fit of the thing, but we did opt for a fancier compact model garbage disposal with a higher hp... perhaps it will work.   One of the concerns was in fact the catch basin, I guess homes with disposals clog them up more frequently and they have to be cleaned out every once in a while. I think we'll give it a shot. Thanks for all the feedback!

[Bonster]

When my guy was installing ours he was asking "where's the disposal?  that's what theses smaller, shallow side tubs are for." 


I explained the wife picked it out because she liked how it looked, LOL.    He did say that if we did add a disposal to spend the extra $$ for a good one and we wouldn't have any problems down the line, so it sounds like you did the right thing.


Also, I wouldn't worry about the catch basin.  I had mine cleaned out when I first moved here and there was less than a foot of gunk at the bottom.  The past two owners (going back 40 years) don't remember ever having cleaned it out at all.  Not that big a deal - many places offer catch basin cleaning.

[Tuttles]

Speaking of catch basins -how often should they be cleaned?  We used Neptune before & they seemed reasonable.  Does anybody recommend another company?  Is there any company I should avoid? 

[Bonster]

Speaking of catch basins -how often should they be cleaned?  We used Neptune before & they seemed reasonable.  Does anybody recommend another company?  Is there any company I should avoid?

I had mine done by Neptune 10 years ago.  Oh, they told me it rarely needs to be done and I didn't have much, but I know people who've had so much crap in there it built up to their drain (from the house) and clogged it.  Mine didn't appear to have much more than about a foot of yuck at the bottom that they shoveled out.


You can probably take the cover off and look down into it with a flashlight and tell if it's bad.

[Mrs.Pete]

It has been many years since we owned a Berwyn 3 flat and we had to have the catch basin cleaned out on a Saturday afternoon. The guy took one look in there and told me to get all the tenants outside to look. Then he lectured them on putting used feminine products in the toilet. We never had to have it cleaned again. I don't remember the name of the company.

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

Speaking of catch basins -how often should they be cleaned?  We used Neptune before & they seemed reasonable.  Does anybody recommend another company?  Is there any company I should avoid?

I had mine done by Neptune 10 years ago.  Oh, they told me it rarely needs to be done and I didn't have much, but I know people who've had so much crap in there it built up to their drain (from the house) and clogged it.  Mine didn't appear to have much more than about a foot of yuck at the bottom that they shoveled out.


You can probably take the cover off and look down into it with a flashlight and tell if it's bad.

We had ours cleaned last year for the first time since we bought our house almost 18 years before at that point and we had no idea when it was done prior to that.  We had a major rodding the year before and they recommended that we do it although it wasn't up to the pipe.  My husband and I grew up in the city and he said his immigrant father and all their relatives all did it themselves with a shovel.  I told him he should know how to do it since he's seen it done and he then proceeded to get on the internet to get prices from companies.  I think we paid about $275 which to him was money well spent.  He watched them do it and said he was amazed that after 105 years the inside of the basin was in fairly good shape - not perfect but still in working order which pretty much describes the house as well.

[Bonster]

It has been many years since we owned a Berwyn 3 flat and we had to have the catch basin cleaned out on a Saturday afternoon. The guy took one look in there and told me to get all the tenants outside to look. Then he lectured them on putting used feminine products in the toilet. We never had to have it cleaned again. I don't remember the name of the company.

Either he did not know what he was talking about, or this was not a catch basin (septic tank or ejector pit, perhaps).  Toilets do NOT connect to the catch basin.



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[pkd50]

Deep sink and disposal.  Love them both.  Don't know how I ever lived without them.  Well actually I do know.  I lived just fine.

[dualref]

Is the catch basin that thing in the basement floor that some people call the grease trap? I remember my parents had theirs cleaned out one time. Man did that stink the house up. I have owned several homes over the years but none of them ever had this kind of thing. Why are they there in the first place?

[renovatorbear]

We installed a disposal and I use it frequently.  No clogs or problems over the last 8 years.