Have you noticed the growing emphasis on kitchen acoustics? Appliance manufacturers are responding with quieter products, from dishwashers and refrigerators to microwaves and food processors.
It makes sense. Any family that entertains or has sleeping children know how disrupting a loud appliance is. The option of offering near-silent appliance upgrades could be a competitive advantage in owner discussions and bids.
Yes, even the garbage disposal.
Today some next-gen garbage disposal units operate at decibels so low you have to hear it to believe it. The technology is so quiet that one leading disposal manufacturer reports users can even carry on a conversation in the same room while the disposal is running.
That’s the thing about garbage disposals. A stubborn mythology has grown up around the 90-year-old technology. Among our favorites: They’re always loud and fussy.
3 Myths
What’s the truth? What’s fiction? Joe Maiale, vice president of wholesale sales for Racine, Wis.-based InSinkErator, offers these insights:
- Noise. “A lot of money today is put into quiet kitchen upgrades,” says Maiale. “The issue is, some contractors don’t know there are quiet options for garbage disposals. Like many of us, they grew up with loud units. Our advanced disposals today are very, very quiet. You don’t have to wait for the company to leave the house to use it.”
- Safety. Hollywood loves to scare us with garbage disposals. It’s all make-believe: All disposers are blade-free. “They’re like a turntable with two lugs on the surface,” Maiale explains. “The spinning turntable with the lugs throws the food waste against a circular cheese grater-like area lining the inside of the disposer, which is continuously flushed with water. It’s very efficient.”
- Waste Items. “If anything, garbage disposers are underused today. You can put a whole turkey carcass down there. Our units can grind just about anything, even celery or corn husks because of the two- and three-stage grinding on advanced disposals,” Maiale explains.
Contractor Friendly
Not all garbage disposals are created the same. Contractors looking to minimize callbacks should double-check the warranty. For example, Maiale says InSinkErator stands behind its products for up to 10 years with in-home parts and service. “The warranty isn’t pro-rated, either,” Maiale says.
Maiale says the companies making quality disposals can offer these warranties because they have done their research and tested the products. “During quality control testing,” Maiale explains “we do our best to try to break our disposers by feeding randomly-selected units a steady diet of wood cubes and frozen rib bones. If it breaks, which it seldom does, we know there’s a problem that needs addressing” Maiale says.
As you line-up your appliance partners, consider manufacturers that deliver both quieter operation and peace of mind.
Learn more about next-gen garbage disposals that reinvent quiet and performance.
