Food waste disposers simple shred food waste into small pieces so they don’t get stuck in the plumbing. Garbage disposals are from technical point of view fairly simple things. There are two different types of food waste disposers, continuous feed and batch feed. The former is more convenient but the latter is safer. The batch feed does not operate unless the lid is closed, making it impossible to get fingers stuck in the disposer. Although more cumbersome to operate, if you have young children, the batch model may be a better choice.
Quality waste disposers should have the parts in the grind chamber made of corrosion proof metal (stainless steel) rather than corrosion resistant metal. The latter generally means galvanized steel and it will start to rust after some time.
The more powerful the motor, the faster the disposer works. Generally, half a horse power (0.5 HP) is enough to grid normal food waste. But the three quarter (0.75 HP) horse power models are a safer choice. The better models are quieter but this may not be of importance. After all, food waste disposers are only used for short periods of time.
Food waste disposers are reliable and don’t require any regular maintenance. Some service technicians recommended feeding a batch of ice cubes weekly through the disposer. This keeps the disposer clean. Flushing with cold water is better than hot water. Hot water melts fat which could solidify and block the drain.
Excessive noise and vibrations are often indications of problems. An empty food waste disposer should not vibrate. If it does, it could be due to a broken impeller that makes the flywheel unbalanced. Excessive noise can be caused by a hard thing caught in the disposer.
There are a number of things that should not be feed into a garbage disposer. Glass or metal must not be feed to food waste disposals. The disposer will get jammed and the foreign objects need to be manually removed. Both potato peels and banana peels can clog the drains. To avoid clogging, flush with plenty of cold water while grinding and for half a minute afterwards. Needless to say, never stick your fingers into the disposer. If you need to remove something out of the disposers, use a pair of thongs or pliers.
Dishwashers can be connected to most food waste disposers. If your food waste disposal has an inlet for a dishwasher, it is located near the top of the disposal chamber. You need a hammer and a screwdriver to remove the knockout plug. Even if you connect your dishwasher to a garbage disposer, it is still a good idea to scrape the plates before putting them into the dishwasher.