We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Product Reviews and Buying Guides Appliance Reviews These Garbage Disposals Devour Your Family’s Stinky Food Waste Safely send your scraps right down the drain. By Siobhan Wallace Siobhan Wallace Siobhan Wallace is a senior editor at Allrecipes. She covers the roundups and reviews of our favorite kitchen products. Prior to joining Allrecipes, she was an editor at Simply Recipes and The Spruce Eats. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on May 7, 2024 In This Article View All In This Article Our Top Picks Reviews Our Takeaway How to Pick Common Questions Why Take Our Word For It? Photo: Allrecipes / Alli Waataja Garbage disposals are one of those modern inventions that make everyday life a lot easier. They quickly grind up any food scraps that make it down the kitchen drain to avoid any large clogs on the way to the sewer. Nowadays, most residential models are easy to install and made with durable materials, so you’ll only need to do regular light maintenance. We mostly recommend continuous-feed models—ones where the drain stays open during operation and you can keep washing dishes—though safer batch-fed models are available. Our Top Picks Our Top Pick: SALE InSinkErator Evolution Compact Garbage Disposal at Amazon $400 $170 Jump to Review Our Other Top Pick: InSinkerator Power 3/4 HP Garbage Disposal at Amazon $169 Jump to Review Best Budget: Waste King L-111 Garbage Disposal at Amazon $75 Jump to Review Best for Easy Installation: Waste King L-3200 Garbage Disposal at Amazon $137 Jump to Review Best Warranty: Moen Host Series 3/4 Horsepower Garbage Disposal at Amazon $155 Jump to Review Best Splurge: KitchenAid Superba Garbage Disposal at Kitchenaid.com $339 Jump to Review Our Top Pick InSinkErator Evolution Compact Garbage Disposal PHOTO: Amazon $400 $170 at Amazon $16 at Walmart $311 at Wayfair Why It’s Great: Powerful motor; quiet; easy installation Grain of Salt: Slightly expensive InSinkerator is the leader when it comes to garbage disposals, and it’s for good reason! Our Allstar Brenda Venable has regularly used her InSinkerator for 14 years with no complaints. And this powerful model is exactly what most families need when it comes to pulverizing food waste. The 3/4 horsepower combined with a speed of 1,725 RPM means it can handle almost anything, including any small bones that fall down the drain. Inside the chamber are three stages of grinding to get your waste as fine as it can be. Add to that, its super-quiet operation. We’re serious—it not only has a “sound jacket,” but it also comes with technology that muffles any noise escaping from the drain. We also really appreciate that this disposal is very easy to install, so you won’t have to call in a plumber. It comes with all the hardware, you just need to supply the tools. Non-handy reviewers state that it only took an afternoon to fully disassemble their old disposal and attach this one, with a little cleaning in between. Of course, then there’s the price, which is a bit more than we’d like, but this investment is one that will pay off. The Details: 8.3 x 8.3 x 12.3 inches; 3/4 horsepower; 1,725 RPM Our Other Top Pick InSinkerator Power 3/4 HP Garbage Disposal PHOTO: The Home Depot $169 at Amazon $189 at Home Depot View on Build.com Why It’s Great: Easy to install; powerful motor; great priceGrain of Salt: Shorter warranty; not as quiet as Evolution series InSinkErator recently added a new mid-level line to its lineup: the Power series. These are still great disposals, at a slightly more digestible price, but you do have to compromise on some features. With 3/4 horsepower and 1,725 RPM, this disposal can get most jobs done when it comes to harder soft materials like peach pits or rinds. There are two stages of grinding happening, so your waste will be ground finer than with budget models. Like the Evolution, installing a model from the Power series is a quick and easy job that shouldn’t require a plumber, though you should make sure you have the correct power cord beforehand. The bigger downsides with this are that the noise level is noticeably louder and you only get a 6-year warranty. The Details: 8.3 x 8.3 x 12.3 inches; 3/4 horsepower; 1,725 RPM Best Budget Waste King L-111 Garbage Disposal PHOTO: Amazon $75 $68 at Amazon $12 at Walmart $79 at Wayfair Why It’s Great: High RPM; built-in power cord; front-mounted reset buttonGrain of Salt: Plastic housing can crack; not best option for large households This Waste King garbage disposal shows you don’t have to give up speed when on a budget. At 1,900 RPM, this will grind through food scraps in seconds. And if something goes wrong and the motor jams, you can reset it easily via the front-mounted button (no reaching around in the dark here). Installation should be a breeze since it’s easy to attach under your sink and the power cord is built-in, unlike some models with a separate cord. While we like this for its speed and price, we’re not the biggest fans of the power. At 1/3 horsepower, this will suffice for smaller households or ones that aren’t constantly using their kitchens, since it can only power through lighter food scraps. Reviewers also note that the plastic housing can crack if you’re not careful during installation. The Details: 5.2 x 5.2 x 12.7 inches; 1/3 horsepower; 1,900 RPM Smelly Kitchen? Here Are 5 Sneaky Places Odors Often Lurk Best for Easy Installation Waste King L-3200 Garbage Disposal PHOTO: Amazon $137 $124 at Amazon $17 at Walmart $137 at Wayfair Why It’s Great: Powerful motor; 8-year limited warranty; large-capacity chamberGrain of Salt: Plastic parts can break A fair amount of garbage disposals can be installed without professional help these days, but Waste King has it down to a science. It includes its proprietary EZ mount, which means attaching this to your sink takes less than a half hour. And it doesn’t have to attach to your dishwasher, saving you even more time and confusion. On top of a 1-2-3 installation, this is one of the fastest and most powerful disposals we recommend. It’ll grind through tough scraps in seconds, even if you’ve filled the 30-ounce chamber to capacity. We will note that reviewers report that some of the plastic pieces can break, but customer service is great at getting out replacement parts, no doubt partly because it comes with an 8-year warranty, The Details: 7.8 x 7.8 x 13.6 inches; 3/4 horsepower; 2,700 RPM Air Fry, Poach, and Pop—The Best Microwaves Can Finally Do It All Best Warranty Moen Host Series 3/4 Horsepower Garbage Disposal PHOTO: Amazon $155 $137 at Amazon $14 at Walmart $155 at Wayfair Why It’s Great: High-speed motor; 10-year warranty; inexpensive for its powerGrain of Salt: Loud A part of Moen’s Host line of garbage disposals, this model is the perfect balance of amazing amount of power, the right price, and a long warranty. That first requirement is filled by 2,700 RPM with 3/4 horsepower behind it. That translates to easily chopping through small fruit pits and even cooked meat. The unit’s blades create a vortex to help wash away any little bits that can get left behind. Of course, we really like the 10-year warranty, which is the longest one available in the category. There’s even an in-home component, in case you need a house call. One complaint that keeps coming up, though, is its noise level. The noise is dampened when the unit is working through a batch of food, but it can be noisy when running empty. The Details: 7.5 x 7.5 x 13.4 inches; 3/4 horsepower; 2,700 RPM Best Splurge KitchenAid Superba Garbage Disposal PHOTO: Kitchenaid $339 at Kitchenaid.com View on Appliancesconnection.com View on Abt.com Why It’s Great: Grinds quickly and easily; quiet; large capacityGrain of Salt: Shipping takes a long time KitchenAid’s large kitchen appliances might not be as iconic as its countertop ones, but they’re just as durable and high-quality. One thing they do have in common is the price tag, though we think this is worth the investment. The 2-stage grinding process happens over the 40-ounce chamber, so your scraps will always have room and won’t clog the pipes. It’s also designed with noise-dampening features so that grinding won’t wake up the whole house or cause you to turn up the volume on the TV. Internally, a lot of the components are made of stainless steel, so you hopefully won’t have to use the 5-year warranty. Reviewers note that it’s easy to install, once it arrives. That arrival is a strike against it. Since this isn’t readily available, shipping can take weeks so you’ll definitely want to plan ahead. The Details: 9 x 9 x 12.8 inches; 3/4 horsepower; 1,725 RPM Our Takeaway Our top pick is the InSinkErator Evolution Advanced Series Disposal because of its speed, power, and ease of installation. For a budget choice, we like the Waste King L-111, which offers quality performance and excellent price, albeit with a less powerful motor. How to Pick the Right Garbage Disposal Style Garbage disposals can either be continuous feed or batch feed. Continuous simply means the disposal will keep running until you switch it off. It can help you get through your dishwashing faster, but there’s the risk of any unwanted object falling into the grinding chamber while it’s on. Batch-feed models are activated by a magnetic stopper, usually a drain cover. You load up the batch of scraps and turn the cover to start the grinding process. This is great for safety, but will mean having to pause cleaning for a few seconds to get rid of the waste. Power A garbage disposal’s power is determined by horsepower, with most residential models ranging from 1/3 horsepower to 1 horsepower. The lower end is good for light-cooking households that don’t regularly need to dispose of small bones or hard pits. The higher end is for the opposite: any household that regularly does a high volume of cooking and will sometimes need to grind through a small bone or stone fruit pit. The finer grind that comes with a higher horsepower can help prevent clogs. Noise Unlike disposals of old, many newer models have some insulation to prevent extreme noise and vibration. More inexpensive versions will have less insulation, while high-end models have more, but even with buffering, there will still be some noise. If your disposal is making high-pitched squeals or grinding noises, it’s time to call in an expert for maintenance. Common Questions How does a garbage disposal work? While garbage disposals do have blades, they don’t operate like the ones we’re familiar with in blenders or food processors. Instead, they, along with an independently spinning plate, force food scraps against a grinding ring. As the waste is ground down, the water heading down your drain from your kitchen faucet helps the waste get through holes in the grinding ring and down the drain. What can and can't you put in a garbage disposal? You’ll want to avoid anything that will cause a clog, get caught in the blades, or damage the disposal. Anything starchy (large amounts of pasta, rice, potato skins, etc.) can absorb water and/or gum up the works. Large amounts of fibrous vegetables or anything with a membrane (onion skins or egg shells) can get wrapped around the blades. Coffee grounds (can get paste-like) and fats are also a no. 11 Things You Should NOT Put Down Your Garbage Disposal How do you unclog a garbage disposal? Before you call the plumber, you can try to unclog it yourself. First, turn the power off during each attempt and run a decent amount of water through the disposal afterward. If you can see the clog from the drain, use pliers or tongs to remove the scraps. Additionally, if there’s standing water in the sink, and you have a flat plunger—not a flange plunger from the bathroom—you can attempt to clear the clog with that. If your disposal still isn’t working, you can push the reset button, with the power turned off again. If it’s still a no-go, there tends to be a spot on the bottom where an Allen fits, which is connected to the blades. Try to turn them from there to see if they’ll free themselves from the clog. How do you clean a garbage disposal? Kitchen drains are always a sneaky place for odors. And yes, you will need to regularly clean your disposal to avoid horrid scents. Thankfully, it’s easy. About every two weeks, fill your sink with a few inches of hot, soapy water, and then allow it to wash through your disposal. Next, place 2 cups of ice cubes and 1 cup of rock salt, or one fully frozen tray of white-vinegar ice cubes, into the disposal chamber. With the cold water on, run the disposal to clear the ice cubes. To deodorize, add a few citrus peels into your disposal and turn it on. The citric acid helps clean out the grime. Can you use a garbage disposal with a septic tank? You can, but don’t think it’ll be a free-for-all with kitchen scraps. You’ll need to continue to exercise caution as clogs can still happen in the pipes and drainfield. You’ll also need to be cautious about anything that can float—like fats, oils, or vegetable skins—to avoid compromising the aerobic process inside the tank. Why Take Our Word For It? Siobhan Wallace is the senior commerce editor for Allrecipes, and even though she's personally afraid of garbage disposals, she researched the current options to find the best disposal for your kitchen.