Frequently Asked Questions
Q. "I've heard that garbage disposer waste harms septic tanks. Any truth to that?"
A. We have yet to read any study that reflects that. Some cities have banned disposers, and then later changed their minds and allowed them, such as New York. From what we know, food disposer waste gets consumed by bacteria in sewage treatment plants and septic tanks, thus reducing the demand for both of these systems.
Q. "Should I be adding enzymes/bacteria to my disposer or septic tank whenever I use my disposer?"
A. Not in our opinion. There are even disposers that add enzymes every time you use that disposer. From what we have read, bacteria grow naturally after initially being introduced (mostly by nature) into septic tanks, and no additional enzymes/bacteria need to be introduced. From our perspective, adding additional enzymes/bacteria each time seems like a waste of money and resources. One additional note, our Founder wishes to encourage you to use composting and not throwing all wastes down your food disposers. Save the Planet and recycle as much as possible.
Q. "My garbage disposer smells! Is there anything that I can do besides buying a new one?"
A. Generally, the simple solution to this is to clean the disposer by having it grind up a few cups of ice and some table salt. This helps to cut the grease and slime off the sides of the disposer. Then, flush it out with cold water followed by half of a lemon or lime to deodorize.
Q. "I installed my new disposer into a stainless steel sink but the thin gasket I used that came with the disposer keeps the flange slightly raised above the inside of the sink. Small amounts of water do collect around the flange. Should I have used plumbers putty?"
A. Some disposal manufacturers recommend using the rubber gasket that comes with the disposer. However, other disposer manufacturers recommend using plumbers putty. We believe if the flange is properly installed using plumbers putty, the installation will provide a seal for a longer length of time than the rubber gasket. When a flange is installed with plumbers putty the putty will keep water from leaking through it. The plumbers putty will also stay pliable over time. As the sink is used water comes in contact with the plumbers putty which slowly absorbs into the putty. The water actually acts as a lubrication for the putty and helps keep it from drying out. This is why sink flanges installed with plumbers putty can function for 20 years or more without leaking. If the sink is not used for 4 months or longer the putty will begin drying out which will lead to leakage when the sink is again used. If you have more confidence in using the rubber gasket and can live with small amounts of water left in your sink, then by all means use the rubber gasket.
Q. "My Waste King disposer is over 20 years old. Will your parts still fit?"
A. These parts are designed to fit units manufactured after 1996. Anaheim Manufacturing redesigned their disposers in 1996. This resulted in the introduction of the EZ Mount system in place of the previous style of quick-mounting for their Waste King disposers. It also resulted in some changes to the "three bolt" style of mounting system. If you are unsure if your unit was manufactured before or after the redesign, units before the 1996 redesign had the reset switch located on the bottom of the unit, facing the floor.
