I left the garbage disposal on for 45 minutes

LOL, don't even go there. I have enough OCD as it is without worrying that I've trapped a cat in the dishwasher. :lol:
 
AlleyCat said:
LOL, don't even go there. I have enough OCD as it is without worrying that I've trapped a cat in the dishwasher. :lol:
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opps sowwy!!! I bet you'll be checking now for awhile now though right?? :D
 
Like Alleycat, I had several, and will never have another disposal.

Three reasons: 1) Dumb people living in the house can't follow simple rules of not letting things fall into the disposal, 2) I've seen the results of plumbing issues caused by large amounts of food put in there, and 3) It is much easier to scrape food in the garbage than sticking my hand down there to dislodge items on a daily basis.

As for the discussion of having lighted switches: There are many choices out there like those lighted switches found at HD or Lowe's....there are also commercial-grade warning lights from sites such as Kele.com, Grainger's, etc.
 
Can't have a dishwasher due to people forgetting. Also, I never liked it when we did have one. I scrape into the garbage and handwash all dishes (no dishwasher except the 2 legged variety). Trash gets taken out nightly so no odor. I also put a quarter cup of baking soda down each drain with hot water nightly.
 
Reba said:
Don't put your other hand in the water at the same time.

You let go of the switch before you touch the faucet.
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Your hands would mostly be wet if your putting food in the garbage disposal , my hands get wet when I put garbage in my garbage disposal
I still think a deadman switch is not the best idea. People do forget to think if they're in a hurry . I would not want a deadman switch next to my garbage disposal especially if I had small kids in the house , small kids loves to push buttons and see something happen. I think your idea is a great risk .
 
rockin'robin said:
Leaving the water running after cutting off the switch is good because the water will rinse away any residue left in the disposal.....I leave my water on every time I use my disposal and when I cut it off, let the hot water run for a few seconds then cut it off.
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I had a number of plumbers tell me to always use cold water never hot water when running my garbage disposal.
 
shel90 said:
I wonder if any deaf people ever got injured by a running garbage disposal? Anyone know? I have never met one person with any hand or finger damage from a running garbage disposal.

I have known so many deaf people and myself included who have flooded our homes by leaving the water on. That seems to be a common issue in the Deaf community.
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When I was a kid our garbage disposal had to be turned on by putting your into the drain and pushing a button at the top . We had a nanny that would stuff the garbage disposal with crap and not know how to turn it on , and me having the smallest hands had to get all the crap out. I was always afraid of losing my hand by pushing the button by mistake! I had to do at least once a week. I am happy to say I still have both hands.
 
green427 said:
Like Alleycat, I had several, and will never have another disposal.

Three reasons: 1) Dumb people living in the house can't follow simple rules of not letting things fall into the disposal, 2) I've seen the results of plumbing issues caused by large amounts of food put in there, and 3) It is much easier to scrape food in the garbage than sticking my hand down there to dislodge items on a daily basis.

As for the discussion of having lighted switches: There are many choices out there like those lighted switches found at HD or Lowe's....there are also commercial-grade warning lights from sites such as Kele.com, Grainger's, etc.
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Speaking of dumb people the woman that owned my condo before me dropped some nails into the disposal and did not take them out. The first time I used it I could not hear the nails being grinded on and they broke the disposal . I was lucky a nail did not coming flying and hit me in an eye !
We need to have a disposal in my condo as we keep the trash totes in the
basement and if we put table scrapes in the trash it bring the rodents
into the house. And we have dumb people that will put raw garbage in their trash and leave it there for a week in the basement in the summer and the whole building stink like a landfill!
 
I like the idea reba had. U will even forget with the lighted switch. Easier to use a switch that requires you to keep your finger on it to run the disposal and thus deaf proof it.
 
Something like a woods 59717 decora style 60 minute timer, mechinal wall switch. $13 is cheap. Set to anyb time up to 60 minutes
 
whatdidyousay! said:
Your hands would mostly be wet if your putting food in the garbage disposal , my hands get wet when I put garbage in my garbage disposal
I still think a deadman switch is not the best idea. People do forget to think if they're in a hurry .
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That's what is good about a deadman switch. You don't have to remember it. As soon as your hand leaves the switch, it turns off the disposal. There is no way that it will run by itself.

I would not want a deadman switch next to my garbage disposal especially if I had small kids in the house , small kids loves to push buttons and see something happen. I think your idea is a great risk .
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It wouldn't be next to the disposal. It would be on the wall in place of the original disposal switch.

It's actually safer for kids because it turns off automatically. A regular disposal switch certainly isn't safer for kids.

You don't have to take my idea. No one does. It was just another suggestion to think about. But it isn't a great risk. Deadman switches were invented to reduce risk. That's why they're included on trains and lawnmowers.
 
deafbirk said:
Something like a woods 59717 decora style 60 minute timer, mechinal wall switch. $13 is cheap. Set to anyb time up to 60 minutes
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I love switch timers. I have them on all my bathroom fan vents. They come in various time increments.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
When I was a kid our garbage disposal had to be turned on by putting your into the drain and pushing a button at the top . We had a nanny that would stuff the garbage disposal with crap and not know how to turn it on , and me having the smallest hands had to get all the crap out. I was always afraid of losing my hand by pushing the button by mistake! I had to do at least once a week. I am happy to say I still have both hands.
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Gross!

Now, that sounds dangerous!
 
whatdidyousay! said:
Speaking of dumb people the woman that owned my condo before me dropped some nails into the disposal and did not take them out. The first time I used it I could not hear the nails being grinded on and they broke the disposal . I was lucky a nail did not coming flying and hit me in an eye !
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You have more bad luck with disposals than anyone I know.

We need to have a disposal in my condo as we keep the trash totes in the basement and if we put table scrapes in the trash it bring the rodents
into the house. And we have dumb people that will put raw garbage in their trash and leave it there for a week in the basement in the summer and the whole building stink like a landfill!
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When I lived in San Diego, in the 60's, the law required residents to use disposals for their garbage. The city picked up only trash, not garbage. That was the first time I lived somewhere that used garbage disposals. When I lived in Connecticut, we had a well and septic tank, so we didn't have a disposal.
 
Reba said:
I love switch timers. I have them on all my bathroom fan vents. They come in various time increments.
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I do too. Mine are 20-minute increments. Gives me so much peace of mind that it shuts off automatically since I cannot hear it at all. It's so quiet. (I have been told nobody can hear it. It is part of the code-mandated air exchange system that was built into my house.)
 
Reba said:
You have more bad luck with disposals than anyone I know.


When I lived in San Diego, in the 60's, the law required residents to use disposals for their garbage. The city picked up only trash, not garbage. That was the first time I lived somewhere that used garbage disposals. When I lived in Connecticut, we had a well and septic tank, so we didn't have a disposal.
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What are you taking about? I only had one thing happen and it was because the idiot I brought my condo from did not take the nails out she dropped into the disposal ! I had no idea there where nails in it! I never did anything to mess up my disposal, the woman that owned the condo before me was a drunk and I had no idea she was an idiot too.

I lived in Berkley in the 70's and owned a house , I did not have a disposal and my neighbors had none. I hate when people put garbage in their trash bags and put it in tote in the basement during the summer . The guy that bring the totes out told me some people just throw their trash on the floor in the basement! That is disgusting!
 
whatdidyousay! said:
What are you taking about? I only had one thing happen and it was because the idiot I brought my condo from did not take the nails out she dropped into the disposal ! I had no idea there where nails in it! I never did anything to mess up my disposal, the woman that owned the condo before me was a drunk and I had no idea she was an idiot too.
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Sigh . . . I didn't say it was your fault. I said you had bad luck, with the nails, and with your experience of reaching into the drain. At least that's how it seemed from your description of events.
 
I would go with a plain spring wound timer switch for as few a minutes as you can find. That way you have it set when you start at a minimum amount of time your hands are both free to take care the sink cleaning and feeding the disposal process. It should fit nicely where your regular switch is. I always put the switch in a stand alone single gang switchbox but I often see where people have ganged them in with other switches which makes no sense to me. The pilot light switch is a good indicator as well and can go in the same place as your old switch.The ideal thing would be a 3-5 minute timer with a pilot light. I did not find one in my quick check but there is a lot of stuff out there.
Keeping both hands free to work is the best thing. I have had many mishaps myself from flooding the place to burning up bathroom fans plus other things. Timers rock!
 
I can relate. I left my oven on and didn't know it. Even though this has nothing to do with sound but I get mad at myself because my stove does not come with a light to let me know the oven is on. On my next stove, I will make it includes light for the oven.
 
We're only human, right? We all do our best but sometimes things happen. I have hearing family who have left the water running and things flooded. I would never be able to hear what is going on upstairs, deaf or not. There has been some good information posted in this thread so THANK YOU!!
 
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