Yesterday morning I had to miss all of you because I was meeting the plumber. He got here earlier than expected, and while he was here I also got his opinion on a few other things. My kitchen sink is still not fixed but he will be back today to do all the work.
I actually learned a lot from him yesterday. While this isn’t quite as exciting as a room makeover or my painted entryway console table (which I’ll share tomorrow), I wanted to pass along all the great information he shared with me yesterday because I think many of you might find it helpful.
On his advice, I initially decided to get a new garbage disposal. As some of you said, the single sink is not the problem. The problem was the garbage disposal and the pipes under the sink. In the past, I have always opted for one of the cheaper Insinkerator garbage disposers available at Home Depot. It’s called the Badger 500 and it’s a 1/2 HP garbage disposal. He said the two problems with the lower ends of the Insinkerator garbage disposals are (1) the lower power and (2) the material from which the internal components are made.
He always recommends a 3/4 HP garbage disposal, but more importantly, he always recommends purchasing one with stainless steel grinding components. To be honest, I had never noticed that before. I had no idea why some Insinkerators were $149 and others were $269 or more. Because I’m cheap, I always bought the lower models without really comparing them to see what makes them different. I always assumed that only the performance made the price difference.
This time I read the boxes to compare the differences. I noticed that the Badger 500 that I usually buy not only has galvanized steel grinding components, but also what is called a single grinding stage. Others had two-stage grinding, others had three-stage grinding. I had never noticed this before and I didn’t even know what it meant. I mean, I could probably imagine what it meant. Of course, the more grinding stages, the better. But when I got home, I still consulted ChatGPT to understand it better. This is what it said:
The “Stages of Grind” refer to a garbage disposal How many times is food waste processed before it leaves the disposal and goes down the drain? More steps means the waste is there broken down into smaller and smaller particleswhich helps prevent constipation and also deals with tougher leftover food.
So a single-stage garbage disposal is only intended for soft foods (like vegetables and small leftovers). However, problems can arise with fibrous foods, bones and larger amounts of food. And I’ll be honest. In the past, I didn’t pay much attention to what I put in the garbage disposal. If it’s food, I would throw it in the trash. This is probably why I burn through the cheap garbage disposals much faster than I should.
Three-stage grinding reduces the food into much smaller particles before it enters the pipes. It’s like running the food through a blender until it’s almost liquid. And a three-stage garbage disposal can handle bones, fibrous foods and peels. I’m not saying that we should Throw these things down the drain, but if one of them comes off of you and goes down the drain, a garbage disposal with a three-stage grinding process can handle it. And because they pulverize the food into an almost liquid state, they are safe for homes with older plumbing, homes with septic systems, and homes with long drain pipes under the home.
That’s why this time I made sure I bought one with 3/4 HP, stainless steel grinding components and three-stage grind. In the end I chose this Insinkerator 45SS from Lowe’s. It cost about $120 more than the Badger 500 I normally buy, but if this lasts much longer than the inexpensive model, the higher price will be worth it.
While he was here, I also asked the plumber the best way to clean a garbage disposal and keep the pipes under the sink clear. Since I am easily influenced by certain influencers, I bought this disposal cleaner on Amazon (affiliate link).
I asked him if such products actually work. He said…NO. Well, that’s not entirely true. He said they were actually good for deodorizing and keeping everything smelling fresh. But beyond that, the claims of deep cleaning, protection and everything along those lines are exaggerated.
So I asked him what he recommends to actually clean the pipes and keep them clear as much as possible. His answer was ice and Dawn dish soap. He told me to put as much ice in the bin as I could, add Dawn dishwashing detergent, and then turn it on. The ice is broken up and acts as an abrasive. Then, Dawn dishwashing detergent removes grease and dirt. And although he didn’t say it (and I didn’t ask), it would make sense to me that you’d want to run hot water for a while afterward, since Dawn dishwashing detergent works best with really hot water. So you don’t need expensive cleaning products that claim to keep your garbage disposal and pipes clean. Just Ice and Dawn. He said it was okay to use the disposal cleaner tabs afterwards as they smell nice and keep everything smelling fresh. Just don’t rely on them to do the heavy cleaning.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve learned about garbage disposal. It was very educational. And while I won’t rely on my garbage disposal as much as I did in the past (I’ll try to be much more conscientious about what I pour down the drain), I still decided to get a new one because food inevitably ends up going down the drain even when I don’t intentionally shove plates of leftover food down the sink. And it’s much more convenient to flip the switch and send the water down the drain than to have to clean a strainer ten times while washing dishes just to keep the water from draining out of the sink.
While he was here I also asked him about tankless water heaters. My next big project will still be converting the guest bathroom into a storage room, and I’d like to add a tankless water heater to the wall directly opposite the doors so I have a whole wall of cabinets on the left and a whole wall of storage on the right for Matt’s gear.
But when I was trying to figure out what type of water heater I wanted, I couldn’t quite put my finger on whether or not I could mount a gasless water heater on an interior wall. While he was here I got his input and he assured me that I could install a gas water heater on an interior wall. There are some caveats. It has to be an enclosed building, but that doesn’t mean I have to build an enclosure around it. I just need to buy one that comes with it. I’m still not entirely sure what that means, but I rely on him to help me purchase the right product.
I’ve been waiting to start this project because I didn’t feel inspired to start. I focused on other fun, random projects and waited for inspiration. And I think part of my lack of inspiration stems from my confusion about the whole water heater decision. I really wanted to work without a gas tank, but from what I read it didn’t seem possible for me to do that on an interior wall. So I wasn’t sure which direction to go and because I was confused, I felt uninspired.
But after he left yesterday, I finally felt the inspiration and excitement for the next big project rising within me. So I’m almost there (mentally speaking). I’m almost at the point where starting this project no longer seems terrible, overwhelming and tedious, but feels exciting and fun. I’m not 100% there yet, but I’m getting there. I still want to finish the porch baseboard and then finish a few other outdoor projects before I start. But once that’s done, I know I’m ready to go in there and start demolishing the bathroom. And I will be thrilled!
Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow to show you all the painted console table in the entryway. It looks so good! Painting it was definitely the right decision (for me).
