A video showing the inner workings of a kitchen garbage disposal has left many viewers astonished by the method this common appliance uses to dispose of waste.
An American Housing Survey indicates that around half of all US homes are equipped with garbage disposals, while such devices remain uncommon in households across most other countries.
For those who do use garbage disposals, getting an inside view of the process can be quite intriguing, especially considering these machines pulverize food waste at a speed of 2800 RPM. One person managed to achieve this unique perspective by placing his GoPro camera inside a disposal unit.
In a video he shared, he demonstrated how these units actually operate, dispelling the myth that they function like sink blenders.
YouTuber Povs Adventures remarked, “I was shocked to hear it vaporized basically anything without using any blades at all. My whole life I thought it worked like a blender with spinning blades.”
However, modern garbage disposals do not use blades in this manner.
He elaborated: “Turns out the way it works is there’s a spinning plate and two blunt impaler logs.”
“When you drop the food down the sink and hit the disposal on, the spinning plate rotates at such a high speed that the impalers smash the food into tiny fragments, while centrifugal force drives it to the outside grind ring.”
Using a small Insta360 camera, the YouTuber captured this process by attaching it just above the unit’s components and demonstrated the effect by feeding various items into the sink. This footage left many non-Americans bewildered, with one commenting that the US is “literally the only country that has a lethal weapon down their sink.”
Additionally, there were reactions highlighting the peculiarity of this long-established technology, with one viewer expressing amazement: “As a non-American, it always amazes me that you have garbage disposals. They are soo cool.”
The primary reason why garbage disposals aren’t found in many other countries, particularly in Europe, is due to older plumbing systems being unable to handle the extra fat and food debris. Some users assumed Americans were indiscriminately discarding all types of waste down their sinks, rather than using the disposals for scraps and minor residue.
One person noted: “I’m still shocked that these things exist. Living in Australia, my leftovers go in the bin (which keeps getting smaller because the local council hates us).”
They also questioned: “Where does the food even go? Does it follow the same water pipes?”
However, some Americans, who have experienced issues with their disposals malfunctioning, advised others to use theirs sparingly, avoiding actions like shoving cucumbers and cameras into them, as demonstrated by Povs Adventures.
A professional plumber humorously added: “As a plumber, keep doing stuff like that. Keeps me working.”