Post by B***@notgmail.comWe have a spectic tank and it gets pumped on a regular .... fairly
regular basis.
I also have septic, where I've lived here about a decade, and I don't even
know where the septic system is, which means it has never once been pumped
out (4 people in the house).
Post by B***@notgmail.comI'd like to put a garbage disposal in the sink but
the data is kind of sketchy on this.
You haven't asked your question yet, but my experience on garbage disposal
is power. Like in horses. I would go for the 3/4 horsepower ones. In my
experience, they're a good compromise in cost, size, and capability.
But, I haven't seen your question yet..........
Post by B***@notgmail.comI can see where you would not
want to grind up a whole lot of stuff and put it down the drain but
I'm mainly looking to grind up bit and pieces of crap that get left
in the sink when cleaning the dishes or when scraping the plates.
Bingo!
I have a rental unit where the lady living there with her family calls me
up almost every Easter saying the drain clogged. It's filled to the core
with egg shells she ground up but which she didn't flush down in stages (or
whatever caused them to clog the plumbing).
My use model on garbage disposal is kind of simple:
1. It's not for getting rid of compost
2. That's what a compost heap is for
3. It's for stopping everything else that goes down the sink from clogging
the sink.
Post by B***@notgmail.comI
put what I can in the garbage but some stuff is too liquidly and I
would like to be able to put this down the drain with the disposal.
If you can swing it, I'd put everything you can in the compost heap, but,
you're right, I think, that the less you put down the drain, the better.
However, if you grind up stuff and use plenty of water to flush it down the
drain, I can't see the harm in that it will decompose in the septic system
(or, I think it should). Did I mention that I've never had mine pumped out?
So I really don't know how much gets in there and how much gets eaten while
it's in there.
Post by B***@notgmail.comI
cannot see the difference between scraping it from the plate to the
sink, to the disposal to the septic tank vs eatting the food, using
the toilet and then it going to the septic tank. The food ends up in
the same place both ways.
Well, there is a difference, but when you put it that way, it's the same
amount of digestible gunk. However, egg shells, bones, peels, apple cores,
bacon fat, etc., aren't gonna get eaten so they have to go somewhere.
Me?
I put all that "big stuff" in the compost (yes, bones and bacon fat too!).
But you can grind up that stuff in the garbage disposal and "my take" (TM)
on that is that it will get eaten up by the bacteria in the septic system.
BTW, how many people do you have in the house versus the number of
bathrooms (since, I think, they size septic systems by the number of
bathrooms)?
Mine has fewer people than bathrooms, so, I think I'm under utilizing my
septic, which may be why it's never needed to be pumped out (since I'm told
it will tell me when it wants to be pumped out).
Post by B***@notgmail.comSo what is the problem of a disposal unit on a septic tank system?
I think it's normal to have a disposal unit on a septic system.
If nothing else, the disposal prevents some clogging of the pipes.
Post by B***@notgmail.comIt
is a matter of VOLUME? Or a matter of WHAT I put down the drain?
I don't think water volume matters but I'll let someone else say whether
the water just leaks out no matter how much you flush down the drain.
The solids get eaten by the good bacteria, is my assumption.
However, my wife literally pours bleach down the toilet so I wonder if that
kills the good bacteria?
Post by B***@notgmail.comAs
I said earlier, it would only be food I cannot place in the garbage
and what is in the sink after doing the dishes.
Seems like it's almost nothing so I would agree with your decision to get
the garbage disposal, if for no other reason than to chop up stuff so that
it doesn't clog the pipes.
Plus, I think, chopping it up makes the bacteria eat it faster.
But that assumes the bacteria eat it, which is my assumption, where I
assume that food gets so eaten up that it disappears in the septic system
with the water leaking out (once the bacteria digest the food to glop).
Post by B***@notgmail.comI don't plan to
grind up bones so I really can't see the problem. I mean if I have
the tank emptied on a regualr basis what does it matter? The stuff
should break down any ways, right?
Now you're thinking like I think.
It's my assumption that you shouldn't even have to clean it out ever.
This is my second septic system (two houses in twenty years) and I've never
once had it cleaned out. I'm told it will let me know if it wants to be
cleaned out, by the smell if not the ooze, and I've just never had either.
As I said, I've been here a decade and I don't even know where my septic
system is, it's been that trouble free.
Post by B***@notgmail.comAny advice appreciated. I looked on the net and it seemed to lean
towards a "no" but didn't explain why very well.
I think a garbage disposal is only a good thing with no drawback other than
it takes up some room under the sink. I suggest you put it in the bigger
basin if you have two sinks (mine is in the smaller basin but my wife cuts
up food in the bigger basin so I constantly have to dig out her scraps).
My recommendation is 3/4 HP but that may be too big for your cabinet.
But, I must repeat, I am just guessing as I've never had a problem with
mine but I have more bathrooms than people and anything that fits in my
hand goes in the compost heap and not down the drain.