Wouldn't have a kitchen sink without one. Used to lived in an area where we all had septic and most homes had disposals ... mostly used to clean up the sink of slimy bits and pieces that no one wants to touch!

We are now on sewer and I still mostly only use it for final rinse/clean out of the sink. Major gunk goes in the trash.

I wouldn't be without one, but do your homework and get a big enough one (HP) and a good brand-might be why your mother always complained.

Interesting. I grew up with a septic system and we always had a disposal too. I can't imagine not having one in my new kitchen. Actually probably one of my biggest complaints while we lived in a rental was not having one

We have a septic and when DH redid the kitchen I insisted on a disposal. No cleaning out a little catcher, just let the small stuff go down. Had to fight for it, but I got it!

ok -- well i thought that you are not supposed to have one if on septic. Regardless, I don't have one now but am thinking about getting one for my new house. Any recs on which one to get? Continuous versus batch?
Thank you.

I've never had a batch feed personally so I can't recommend batch vs continuous but brand wise, I would say Waste King or insinkerator.

My previous one was an 3/4 HP Insinkerator that we used for 20 years, when we were getting the new one I figured I would research what the best disposal was and pretty much every list had the waste king as the top.

I got the Waste King L-8000 series 1 HP and it runs so quietly, the first time I used it I got a flashlight and looked inside to see if it had actually ground up anything.

It really is a great disposal, also I'm on septic too and have never had a problem.

I hardly ever use my garbage disposal because we compost just about everything, but it still is really handy for those few times when we want to use it. Unless cost is a serious issue, I'd get one.

I have an InSinkerator Evolution Excel. It chews up everything and is very quiet. One thing I would make sure is that you have enough pipe clearance to meet the GD's specs given your sink and the location of your drainpipe. It's usually only an issue if you have a very deep sink. The specs are usually online.

I installed the Insinkerator Evolution Spacesaver. It's powerful and extremely quiet. Love it and wouldn't be without one. I really missed it when we were kitchenless during the remodel!

Ditto what bbtrix said. i put the Evolution Spacesaver in about a year ago and it was THE only thing that came back into the new kitchen. It's even better with the air switch. :)

ditto last posts ... the Insinkerator Evolution 1HP is AMAZINGLY quiet - the quietest one I've ever had. Strongly agree w/cal about the airswitch - having it right on the sink deck is so handy. And while you're at it - the other tip I've gotten from GW, the NEVERMT to plug into your soap bottle - it's genius.

(and that's all coming from a guy :)

I would sooner live without a dishwasher than live without my garbage disposal. I have the Insinkerator Evolution, as well -- batch feed. Go for it! No smelly garbage!

I used to think a disposal was a must have, but now I run a lot less down the disposal. That being said if you do buy one, get from costco. They offer a lifetime warranty. Enough said.

My new house does not have one and I miss it terribly. It is on my to do list to have one installed.

Two days ago I was making dinner and cut some scallions. Had to throw the waste in the garbage which I know would stink in hours. Ugh!

carol makes a good point about warranty. One of the reasons I chose waste king is that they offer a lifetime warranty.

Mine is large but the size doesn't bother me since I have a 3 basin sink and 2 dishwashers.
You can imagine how fun it was plumbing all of that in!

not that it really matters but i looked into why i thought i couldn't get a disposal with my septic --- and its because my town has an ordinance that doesn't allow it -- so my builder of my current house would not have received a c/o if he installed one. i could have gotten one under the radar screen after the fact, i guess, but never did.

I don't think I would get one again if I had to do it over. I don't like that they smell. It's new but we don't use it that much and maybe that is the problem. I don't like that they take up room in the cabinet underneath and that they have to be replaced in a few years time. They rust if you hardly ever use them. My trash cans in the garage are not far from my kitchen so I find that I am always taking things to the trash and not using it because it is just easier to put it in the trash. Our trash pick up is two times a week also. We have water issues here and it takes extra water to run the disposal as well. I had one that lasted for years and years but then got rusty. I had it replaced and I'm wondering why. I don't think people peel that much produce these days and when I do it's easy to just peel over newspaper, wrap up and toss in the garbage or in a compost pile. But I do recognize that everyone is different and has different needs.

A must have IMO - so long as you don't abuse it (i.e. chicken bones, potato peels and egg shells) you shouldn't have any issues. Mine has never smelled and we've never had to replace an insinkerator brand disposal (made right here in Wisconsin!).

Shoot, even my dishwasher has a disposal in it!

I compost nearly everything also and really only wanted to get a disposal again for the small bits off hand washing pots and pans, dishcloths and sponge from wiping. Since I really don't use it for big stuff often (I do put citrus peels down sometimes since they don't compost really well) I do make sure to run it and put some baking soda down it regularly. I probably could do with out it but it wasn't a really big expense and comes in handy from time to time. I have a Waste King, very pleased with it.

Yep, gotta have 'em. I have 2 in the kitchen, 1 in each sink. We use them both more than I thought we would we are also on a septic system. We had to have the septic system cleaned, inspected and the leach lines shot out in order for the county to let us hook it up to the new house. After 15 years the guys who cleaned it and the inspector both thought it was a very healthy system and would last many more years. So if used 'properly' they shouldn't hurt the septic at all.
As an aside when doing the work on the septic I found out that they have a life span and that's why there is usually a back-up system in the plans when putting one in. I did not know that and assumed they were good forever. Our county actually dissuades the use of septic 'treatments', they're theory is that if the system is healthy and working properly that additives will only cause issues. We have WK disposals.