I need some input for anyone and everyone.
If you have doube kitchen sinks, one deeper than the other, which sink should the food disposer go beneath? And, why?
Our kitchen sinks are, from left to right: deep sink, shallow sink, and the drain tray. In my mind, you wash in the deep sink, rinse in the shallow sink, then place the dishes on the drain tray. The work flow is from left to right. In so doing, it was always my impression that the food disposal went beneath the sink that you wash in because this is where all the food particles will end up. I am assuming that the larger pieces of food waste will be scraped off in the trash prior to washing. (So why do we need food disposals to begin with??)
Our food disposer is beneath the shallow sink and I think that this is incorrect. It has gone out and I am in the process of replacing it, but some folks seem to think that I am incorrect in what I believe. I’ll be happy to be wrong because it will save me a lot of work not having to repipe the drains beneath or kitchen sink.
All comments or suggestions will be most welcome.
Phillip
Replies
what ever sink makes U happy.
but I did read the other thread and think logic puts it under the shallow sink.
that's where I've always put them.
scrap first ... into small sink.
then wash in the soaker.
U can scrape and keep adding to the soaker sink as U go.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Thanks for the feedback, Jeff.In this case, I'm very happy to be wrong because it will save me some work. Won't have to move the On-Off switch either. Great.Thanks for your comments.Phillip
"I'm very happy to be wrong because it will save me some work."
it's your kitchen ... no right or wrong.
think of it more of ... standard and custom.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Jeff,Once I get this bloody thing up and running the boss will be happy, but I guess it won't hurt to tell her that I had to make a very difficult custom fit to make it all come together. Good idea. I hope it works cuz I hate sleeping with the dog.Take care.
Were you eavesdropping on me this morning?? - lol I had this conversation with the GC on a remodel that I'm doing the kitchen cabinets for.
The simple answer is that the disposal can go under either sink - it's all about your preference. That small basin is intended for vegetable preparation and the disposal usually gets put there since that's where the potato peels go. Some folks like the disposal under the large basin so it's handy for rinsing off plates before they go in the dishwasher.
It's your call.
Hey, Dave!Now, I'm laughing. Everyone is shooting my disposal theory full of holes. This realy is good news to me. Now I'll feel much better just replacing the worn out unit and not feeling guilty that I was cutting corners.Thanks for stopping by.Phillip
PhillipJust put two in then there is no worry as to which one is right.Wallyo
Good one. If I can stop laughting, I'll answer the other responses.Thanks for the funny.
Under the shallow sink is ok, if all the users can cope.
It also works if the deep sink is too low to get the disposal under too.
My preference is under the deeper bowl, which goes on the side closest to the d/w--but that's me, others differ.
What I really don't like are the "cute" veggie bowls the sink designers seem to insist upon. They are ok for one potato, or a could of bell peppers--but useless for a lasagna pan (or three) if that's where the disposcal is mounted.
But, that too, is personal bias.
Good Grief Capn - The dog get the lasagna bowl to lick. I thought everybody knew that.Tigger
The dog get the lasagna bowl to lick. I thought everybody knew that
Not much help, though, if the lasagna dish has been in the fridge for a while <g>
That, and the amount of red pepper flakes I use tends to put dogs right off <g>Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Disposal goes under the bowl that is closest to the dishwasher.
"Disposal goes under the bowl that is closest to the dishwasher."Why?
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
dishes are prepared for the DW in the sink bowl that has the disposal in it. Food scraps scraped or rinsed off, etc. and then put down the disposal. If the disposal is in the bowl furthest from the DW, whoever is doing the dishes is moving dishes from the disposal bowl over the other sink and to the DW. Inefficient and more messy.
Get a good DW and just put the dishs in it..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Most people who build for a living can't afford $900 dishwahsers.
Matt,In my case that would be the deeper sink, which is not where the disposal is now. I think that makes sense because the dishwasher drain ties into the waste disposer at least mine was.Thanks for the comments.
Don't know why I was drawn to answer this thread but for some reason I could not stop myself. Personal choice. But putting it under the shallow sink leaves more storage space in the cabinet below the disposal also many sinks the drain for the shallow sink is not in the center but toward the back also allowing for more storage in the cabinet since the disposal will be toward the back and not hanging in the center.Now That's my 2¢ but you can put it anywhere it fits it's your kitchen. I also feel the same about kitchen design as well yes there are the NKBA guide lines and many of them have a good reason but as long as it is not a safety issue you can break these rules if you wish or that is what the owner wants. They may live to regret it when it comes time to sell but who ever signs my check makes the final design choices
Also late to the "discussion"
I have a double, that the small sink is very very small, We are both R Handed, and the small sink is on the left, and left of the prep area we use. that way you can use the hand you are cutting,with(the R), to push the offall into the small sink with the G/D...The other sink is much larger than normal double sinks, so You can soak/wash "big stuff"in it. I came to that solution after having the G/D in the right sink for 20 years, and having to pick the offall up and move it over....The d/w is not a problem..
Bud
Well, in my house, I am the food disposer.
In the sink, the garbage disposer would be in the shallow sink.
But it can go on either side if that is what you want.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
You know, now that you mention it, I have been accused of "eatin like a garbage disposal". I had forgotten about that one. Glad to know I'm in good company.Thanks for the good humor.
Yeah, when I was in school they called me the human garbage disposal.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
our last house had a sink that i would call a 75/25 split with the small size being a little shallower than a reg sink. i put the disposal in the small part,i hated it. when you had a big plate that needed scrapped and sprayed off,stuff flew every where.won't do that again. larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
I hate to admit this, but for some reason my wife and I both wash dishes in the shallow (middle) sink and I really think we do that because the food disposal was connected to that sink. When we drained the dishwater, we always ran the food disposal to grind up the food particles left over in the wash water (the big stuff was scraped into the trash before washing). But, we really could have been washing in the deep (left) sink and rinsing in the shallow sink.All of this leads back to why I thought that the bloody waste disposal should have gone below the deep sink to begin with because it makes more sense - just like you said - to wash the dishes in the deep sink which will accommodate the larger pots and pans that the shallow sink could not. In truth, my wife and I could have both ignored that fact by scraping the waste into the shallow sink, running the disposal, then washed in the deep sink and rinsed in the shallow sink. Seems like we up-rights make things more difficult that they ought to be.Thanks for you comments.
we got rid of the garburator. Instead have a small closed bucket for the waste. It goes into the composter. Makes wonderful soil. Frees up space under the sink - no electrical lines either
Good idea, but I'm married and worse yet, she is an interior designer for a large corporation and that suggestion would land me in the basement with ol' Shep. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing agin ol' Shep, its just the fleas that I can't stand. That and the fact that I'd have to eat out of a bowl and I don't think that would be much fun. Ha!Take care.
I put my disposal in the sink away from the DW and I hate it.
My counter goes DW, sink, sink with disosal, food prep area. My thought process was that I would use the disposal more for scraps from the food prep.
But there's so much more food from after the meal then there is before. I should have put the disposal next to the DW.
I'll tell you, I have learned so much from everyones comments about this: the personal preferences, the plumbing, not to mention how kitchen sinks, dishwashers and so on, are laid out. Crazy.I think our layout is similar to yours: DW, deep sink, shallow sink with food disposal and what you refer to as the food prep area. In out kitchen the food prep shelf is used for the stainless dish drainer ( I hope that is the correct terminology ).Contrary to what I have said earlier, I have decided to place the food disposal beneath the deeper sink (closest to the DW) for three reasons: 1. It is next to the DW and I can replace the long hose from the DW to the food disposal making for a neater job and lessening the clutter;2. I concur that a lot of food debris ends up in the wash sink and when drained should be ground up by the food disposal prior to reaching the drain pipe;3. My wife and I are both right-handed and ergonomically speaking, it makes more sense to open the right under-sink counter door to reach the trash can. It will also be below the shallow sink so it will accommodate a taller trash can which will be more efficient because we can pack more trash into a taller trash can utilizing the same size of trash bag. Again, less waste. At present, the trash can is below the deeper sink which necessitates a short trash can.In all of this, I have failed to mention that we very rarely use the DW. I'm old school in that I was raised not to waste anything and I see the DW as a waste of hot water and electricity. Some would no doubt argue that it is a time saver. I won't quibble about that, but will simply say, different strokes. I have no way to prove my comments about the DW being wasteful, but to me it's just quicker and easier to wash the dishes by hand and be done with it. We have a rule in our house that my wife prepares the evening meal (most of the time anyway. I'm the wok master and do make a meal or two on occasion.), and I clean up. So, she has no qualms about how the dishes are washed. If I recall correctly, we do use the DW when we entertain and there a loads of dishes to wash.Thanks for your comments. BTW, we're neighbors.
Our DW died right before Christmas and it took about two weeks to get it fixed (it was still under warranty so we were at the mercy of the repair company if we wanted it fixed for free)
We have five people in the house and I couldn't imagine life again without the DW. If it were just my wife and I, it would be no problem to wash dishes by hand, I can see that. But with five mouths, it's a lot of work to keep up with the dishes (and a ton of water, I would like to see the comparison)
Thanks for your comments. BTW, we're neighbors.
If talking to someone from outside Illinois, I say I'm just outside Chicago. If talking to someone in the Chicago area, I say I'm from Naperville. You are the one just outside of Chicago. I would love to live in Oak Park someday. Maybe when all the kids are off to school.
I can see why the DW is so important for you. I personally have never had that experience, but with all of those dishes to wash there would be no question as to how they would get washed. Yikes! I'd be washing dishes 24/7.As to your comments about OP ... I will say that it has it's good points (like anything else in life), but coming from New Mexico, I had always heard so many great things about OP that my expectations were quite high - until we started looking at bungalows. I was shocked at what I saw. Since I have been a bona-fide home-improvement guy for most of my life, what I saw all of these bazillion dollar homes simply sucked. Big Time! Briefly (and that is hard for me to do when it comes to this particular subject) the electrical was a joke and still is. I had to completely re-wire this house. Now, it really has a green ground wire. Not the orange, yellow and blue substandard AWG wiring that we had. Another thing. ComEd has absolutely no infrastructure in this area. I do not know what NEC says about IL, but in New Mexico (we have another home there), each house has it own step-down transformer. Here, there are TWO for each block. So, why do all the house lights dim when Mrs. Smith across the street turns on her reading lamp? Well, let me guess .. surely it couldn't be because there isn't sufficient voltage and current to prevent this could it? Nah, no way. ComEd/IL always takes good care of it customers. Right? Wrong!Then there are the pot holes in the streets. I've seen better dirt roads.And did I forget to mention the extremely high property taxes that go to pay for all of these wonderful conveniences. I'll stop. In truth, I honestly do like OP, but IMHO, all the hype is far from the truth that one hears about OP. It is a real shame, but what I say is my experience moving here as an 'outsider', so to speak. However, all of my neighbor's say the same things that I do, but they all claim that OP is fiscally crippled like most other communities. I think that most of these problems, regardless where they may be is due to ignorance, poor management and politics. And if we fail to raise our voices about all of these issues, then we have nothing to whine about. And, unfortunately, most folks like to sit on the sidelines and complain rather than demand accountability from their civil leaders.Now I'm off my soap box.Take care.
tz tz tz
No DW? what would your realtor say? Your housevalue just dropped dramatically.
Or are you one of the homeowner who build houses just for yourself to enjoy and really dont care how the next owner renovates the house?BTW continue what you are doing. It is ok to do your own thing
My.02 worth.
Our kitchen set up - from left to right - dishwasher, shallow sink, deep sink, sometimes drain area (no permanent / integral install).
Trash can is under deep sink. Disposer is mounted under shallow sink.
Work flow goes like this - dishes from table land in deep sink, scraped into trash can under deep sink if needed; rinse in shallow sink; loaded into dishwasher. So work flow is from right to left.
Dishwasher drains into disposer which is under shallow sink - closest to dishwasher.
Veggie prep - veggies and cutting board land on top of dishwasher, peels, etc. land in shallow sink to right of DW, any rinsing, etc. happens in deep sink. When completed, the big chunks get scooped up and thrown in trash can. Any bits get rinsed down the shallow sink and ground in the disposer.
My left handed wife designed our first home's kitchen this way, when we remodeled the kitchen in our current house - we set it up the same way. I have been doing it this way for 25 years and other ways would probably feel awkward at this point.
I do not think there is a right and wrong to this question, however, the sink manufacturer probably thinks the disposer goes under the shallow sink. Due to this sink's higher elevation, a little more useable floor space is maintained in the sink base cabinet.
Jim
Jim,Thanks for all of your great comments.I find all of this very interesting in that we up-rights have our own quirks and personal preferences not to mention our ability to adapt to our surroundings. Being right or left-hand even adds to the drama.Your work flow makes perfect sense for the way that you prefer to wash dishes and dispose of the waste. You also utilize the DW in your everyday kitchen workflow, which we do not. One thing that puzzles me, and I would love to take a look at the research data that sink manufacturer's gather, is whether or not a particular style of sink is actually chosen with conscious and meaningful consensus or just randomly chosen by the designer (assuming there was one to begin with) and installed by the craftsman. The result is that the new owner has to adapt to her new kitchen surroundings, like it or not. In my case, I can honestly say that I never gave it a moments thought. I just did what I had to do to git 'er done, so to speak. My wife has never mentioned a word on this in spite of the fact that she is an interior designer. I suppose it fair to say that she deals with the larger aspects of interior design and not how folks do their dishes.We have another home in New Mexico and that kitchen has dual sinks of equal depth. When we go back to get away from Chicago, I find the sinks barely adequate in that kitchen, but I never noticed this prior to moving to Chicago. When there, we of course, have to re-learn our old habits which is always interesting. Of topic a bit, but the water pressure in our NM home is frightening compared to the trickle we have in our 90 year old bungalow. I do understand the reason for that, but all of these things do make for a shock when experienced first hand.Bottom line is that we humans are wonderful adapters, but it's only when we start making comparisons that we realize that there oftentimes is a better way and that's okay. So, I have to agree with you, there is no right or wrong way in all of this. It just boils down to what makes the most sense to us - at the time. I tend to lean towards reasonable fiscal efficiency whenever I commit to a project. Reasonable is never set in concrete, especially when there's a lady in the house.I've been very enlightened by all of this. Thanks again.
>>home in New Mexico ..... I find the sinks barely adequate in that kitchen..<<
Uh-oh ---- sounds like another plumbing project is on the way :-)
>>You also utilize the DW in your everyday kitchen workflow...<<
It is a part of the workflow but we do not use the DW every day, our dishwasher tends to function as a concealed, dirty dish, storage area and only gets run about every 3 days or so. Wife has lots of dishes, they are well rinsed when entering the DW for "storage". Pots and pans tend to be washed and dried by hand as they take up too much space in DW. The kitchen cutlery has never seen the inside of the DW.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Any one else find the humor when DW is confused for dishwasher and wife in this thread?
Your comments made me recall the times I could not find a particular dish or pan only to remember that my wife used the dishwasher the day before (or earlier). And sure enough, there it is, resting nicely in the DW. So, I can say that we also use the DW for 'storage'. Your remarks about the NM project may or may not come to pass. We may end up selling it. Problem being the taxes will kill you if you have not lived in it for I believe, the previous 3 years, which we have not. Who knows what we'll do. Take care and thanks for the help.Phillip
Put in a stainer.
Better to not overload the sewer treatment plant.
If you have to put it in, put it where the family wants it.
My last client put it in the large side and the one before put it in the shallow side.
Both are right! They are the client.
You make some very good points. I will take all of those into consideration. Takes some of the load off of the food disposal as well.Thanks for your comments.Phillip
My plumber always says less water thru a disposer the longer life, so it you are using your deep sink to fill and wash things, having the disposer there will open it to lots of water running thru, use the small sink. Also drain pipe in the wall may preclude you from mounting the unit at a lower height needed for the deep sink
Steve,Thanks for your comments.After much hemmin' 'n hawin', I've decided to put the food disposal beneath the deeper sink for the reasons that I've stated earlier. In addition, at this point in time, all of my plumbing components are in place: double-wye is history, new holes have been bored in counter bottom and floor and I'm good to go. Go with have to wait until tomorrow, of course, I have to dedicate my time to the playoffs. DIYing can take a hike today.Your comment about not being able to mount the disposal beneath the deeper sink is an interesting one. The disposal that went out on us had a rubber boot (about 4" in length) that was installed between sink and disposal. I always thought that it was there to eliminate any vibration caused by the disposal. I quickly learned that all of the new disposals did not include a boot like this. So, without the boot, most disposals will fit beneath either type of sink. I'm sure there are exceptions, but that is my experience to date.I do however, appreciate your comments and your time.Phillip
Phillip,
I have had the same question since I remodeled my kitchen 7 years ago, and I haven't been happy since. The disposal is in the narrow, shallow sink, which is very hard to manuever larger plates and bowls into to rinse off the scraps. I don't care what anyone says any more, after 7 years I KNOW that the dosposal should be in the large sink and I'm having it moved as soon as I get around to it. 90% of the dishes, etc, get rinsed lightly and thrown into the dishwasher, so nobody has the big sink full of dishwater to hand wash dishes in anyway! In my opinion this is one of those things we do because we've always done them that way. Sorry if I am repeating anyone's post but I didn't have time to read the entire thread.....
FrancoRosso
Franco,Don't worry about being too late. Not a problem.You and I are on the same sheet of music save for one exception. You are convinced because of your experience, I having no experience in this matter, am of the same belief because it just seems to make the most sense to me. I mean it just seems logical that the deeper sink is meant to wash dishes and pots and pans of all sizes. The shallow sink cannot accommodate these larger pieces. So, if you wash in the deeper sink, that's where all of the food debris will end up and consequently, where the FD should beSince you did not read the entire post, I'll tell you that I've gone full-circle - twice. First, the deep sink was going to get the FD, then back to the shallow (where it originally was), then back to the deep sink where IS going to be attached. What I did was compile a list comprised of '+'s and '-'s of why or why not the bloody FD should go beneath the deeper sink. The '+'s won out and I didn't cheat, but I did not take into account the extra work involved because ease of use and convenience were my ultimate goals. But everyone has to realize that each of us has their own 'work flow' preferences for doing what we do in life, dishes included. In addition, since I'm DIYing it, cost is really minimal. My biggest expense has been the above board air-switch to activate the FD. And, of course, my $125 hourly rate will have to be made up elsewhere. Ha!In our household, which does not include any children, my wife (and financial advisor, of course) have an agreement. She cooks the meals (most of the time), and I clean up (most of the time). It's a 50-50 deal that works well for us. So, it could be argued that only my say matters in this decision, but in truth she has concurred completely in all of this. But, I secretly believe that the only thing she will really take delight in will be the magical counter top button that will be installed to activate the FD. The rest will not matter to her so long as everything works as it should.Take care.
Phillip
Phillip,
Good choice, I think you will be much happier with the FD on the deep side. NOW, lets talk about my other major gripe with kitchen sink design. After 7 years with the current setup, I am not at all convinced that a second sink is necessary. We (wife plus 2 young kids) never use the small sink, and I can't think of any reason why it's there. If I ever remodel another kitchen, I will get ONE big sink which will fit broiler trays and other big items as I wash/rinse them off. I can't change the two sink design we have now because the granite is cut into an irregular shape around the sinks, but if I could I would!
Franco
Our local rag has a Sunday section call House & Home. This weeks was on trends. Mostly about decorating. But mentioned that more homes where going to single bowl sinks.But also had a lot of stuff that I would never do to a house.Blue in the new color and they showed blue appliance."COLOR
Blue is Pantone’s color of the year (a medium blue tinged with iris) and a force in kitchens (clear French blue and cobalt).Yellow will become big in interiors for the first time since the ’70s, first as an accent, then as a dominant color.Light wood stains will push out “Pottery Barn” dark stains; hints of unstained, “raw” finishes will appear."So in a year or 2 Harvest Gold will be back. Hope you still have your old refigerator.http://www.kansascity.com/living/home/story/445868-p2.html
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.