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Yes, you can use a garbage disposal in a home with a grinder pump, but everything that goes down the disposal ends up in the grinder pump next. Grinder pump manufacturers prohibit fats, oils and grease in any drain, the garbage disposal included. Thanksgiving is the hardest test of the year: more grease, more scraps, more guests and more water in a single day. Scrape plates into the trash, pour grease into a can, run the disposal with plenty of cold water, and space out the dishwasher and laundry.
A lot of homes in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Perdido Beach and other low-lying parts of Baldwin County send their wastewater through a grinder pump instead of a gravity sewer line. Most homeowners never think about it until the alarm goes off. Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, and a holiday kitchen is exactly when people find out how much their grinder pump can and cannot handle.
A gravity sewer simply lets waste flow downhill to the main. A grinder pump system collects everything from your house in a tank, grinds it, and pumps it under pressure into the sewer line. Every drain in the house feeds that tank: toilets, showers, the washing machine, and the kitchen sink with its disposal.
That means your disposal is not the end of the line. It is the first stage. Food it grinds becomes a load on the grinder pump. Grease it rinses away cools and solidifies in the tank, on the float switches and in the pump. The E/One grinder pump owner's guide, one of the most common systems in the region, lists fats, oils and grease among items that should never go into your toilet, sink, shower, bathtub, garbage disposal or other drain.
The disposal is fine. What you put through it is the question.
Most of this list applies to any kitchen. A grinder pump home just has less margin for error, because there is a pump and a set of controls between your sink and the sewer.
A house full of guests for several days means more showers, more toilet use and more laundry than the system usually sees. Spreading those out across the day helps. So does keeping the guest bathroom stocked with a trash can, because wipes and paper products are a leading cause of grinder pump jams.
A grinder pump alarm usually means the water level in the tank is higher than it should be. Do not panic, and do not ignore it.
One important step before you call: find out who owns and maintains your grinder pump. In some Baldwin County neighborhoods the sewer provider is responsible for it. In others, it belongs to the homeowner. Your sewer bill or provider can tell you, and knowing ahead of time saves a step on a holiday.
Not every holiday kitchen problem involves the grinder pump. If only the kitchen sink is backing up and every other drain in the house works normally, the clog is probably in the disposal or the kitchen drain line. That is a drain cleaning or disposal repair job.
A disposal that hums but does not turn, leaks from underneath, trips its reset button repeatedly, or smells bad no matter what you do may need repair or replacement. Replacing a disposal is a routine job, and if you are already scheduling a grinder pump service, it is efficient to have both looked at in the same visit.
Yes. A garbage disposal can be used in a home with a grinder pump, but everything it grinds goes to the pump. Grinder pump manufacturers like E/One prohibit fats, oils and grease in any drain, including the disposal. Scrape plates into the trash and use the disposal for small residue only.
Let them cool, pour them into a can or jar, seal it, and put it in the trash. Never pour grease down a sink, even with hot water and soap. It cools and solidifies further down the line, and in a grinder pump home it collects in the tank and on the pump controls.
Usually because the tank filled faster than the pump could empty it, from heavy water use, or because something jammed the pump, often grease or wipes. Stop using water, check the breaker, and wait. If the alarm does not clear with power on and water use stopped, call for service.
Cold water. It keeps any small amount of fat that gets through more solid so it can be chopped and carried away instead of coating the pipe as a liquid. Run cold water before you start the disposal, while it runs, and for several seconds after you turn it off.
It depends on where you live. In some Baldwin County neighborhoods the sewer provider owns and maintains the grinder pump. In others the homeowner does. Check with your sewer provider before you need a repair, so you know who to call when the alarm sounds.
If only the kitchen sink is slow or backing up, the problem is likely the disposal or the kitchen drain line. If multiple drains are slow, toilets gurgle, or the grinder pump alarm is sounding, the issue is more likely in the grinder pump system and needs a different kind of service.
Gone Coastal Plumbing and Air services grinder pumps, garbage disposals and kitchen drains across Foley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Daphne, Fairhope, Robertsdale, Silverhill, Fort Morgan, Elberta, Perdido Beach, Lillian, Summerdale and Magnolia Springs. If your disposal is acting up or your grinder pump has not been checked in a while, the weeks before Thanksgiving are the time.
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