Garbage Disposer Basics - How They Work

Garbage disposers are pretty simple--and they all work on a similar principle. They put a flat plate that has small, rotating, steel mashers, and an inner disposer wall that has serrated "teeth" to work to do the job of grinding your food waste.

A motor inside the unit rotates the flat plate in the food-grinding area. When you switch the unit on, the mashers are forced to swing toward the outside of the spinning plate.

There are two types of disposers:

Continuous Feed

These are activated by a wall switch. When you place food in the disposer and switch it on, the mashers force the food against the serrated teeth of the inner wall and shred it. The shredded food then falls through small holes between the spinning plate and the inside walls, and is diverted into the drainpipe.

The job of the rubber shield at the top of the disposer is to keep fast-moving food particles from being ejected out of the disposer. The stopper lets you plug the sink to hold water when you're not using the disposer to grind food scraps.

Batch Feed
Batch feed disposers function exactly like continuous feed disposers, except that, to switch them on, you place a special stopper in the disposer opening and turn it. The stopper activates a switch that turns on the disposer.

Garbage Disposer Buying Tips

• Motor Size is a very important feature to look for when buying a disposer. Most in-home disposers come in 1/2 or 1 horsepower. The former is fine for a small family with moderate disposal use, while the 1-horsepower disposal is designed for bigger and tougher jobs.

• Look for special features such as overload manual reset, corrosion protection shield, sound baffles, self-service wrenches and anti-splash baffles. Ask specifically about noise level, a key factor for many people.

Tricks to Keep Your Garbage Disposer Maintained

Cleaning the Disposer

To clean and deodorize the interior, try placing a lemon or lime in the disposer, turn on the water and then switch the disposer on. For removal of bad oders try visiting the RepairClinic.com Accessories site and look for Disposer Care. It helps to scrub away food, grease, and odors. And it's safe for septic tanks and PVC pipes.

Upright Garbage Disposer

If the rubber splashguard becomes torn or deformed, or if you need to replace the stopper, visit RepairClinic.com's PartDetective to find the correct part for your model.