Will Garbage Disposal Cut Your Hand?
The garbage disposal is one of the essential units that help manage kitchen waste. This household equipment is usually installed underneath the sink before attachment to the drainage pipes.
Garbage disposals work by grinding kitchen waste drained through the sink into smaller debris, easing flow and preventing clogged drainage pipes.
A garbage disposal will cut your hand if it’s in the sink inlet when the disposal is on. Garbage disposals have sharp metallic impellers that rotate through a powered motor, grinding the food wastes into bits. These impellers are sharp enough to create major wounds.
Let’s look at the garbage disposal, how it works, and take a run through the potential dangers when using one.
How Garbage Disposal Works
Garbage disposal units are now a household name in most homes and a basic kitchen appliance. Since the disposal unit works to help ease drainage of kitchen waste, not all waste is meant to be dumped through this device.
When you switch on a garbage disposal unit, the motor runs the impellers and centrifuge force generated. This force causes the impellers to move at high speeds, cutting and breaking down food wastes. These small particles can now easily drain out through the drainage pipes to the sewers.
Types of Disposals
There are three main types of garbage disposal units: continuous feed disposal, batch feed disposal, and air switch model. The primary difference between the first two models lies in their activation mode. The batch feed model’s activation requires placing a cover stopper on top of the drainage opening.
In addition, the batch feed model only handles a batch at a time, grinding and easing the food debris through the drainage pipes.
On the other hand, continuous disposal makes use of a switch to power it on/off, helping drain your food wastes, without stoppages, as in the batch feed disposal.
This makes the model faster and more convenient for daily usage, especially in a busy kitchen environment. Most notably, the mouth of the drainage remains open during disposal when using a continuous feed model.
The air switch model has a cover top installed next to the sink. This button, once pressed, sends pulses of air through PVC tubing and to the control box unit, which then activates the garbage disposal. Most air switch disposals serve as accessories to the garbage disposal model in place.
Are Garbage Disposal Blades Sharp?
Garbage disposals are relatively safe to use. However, there’s always the lingering question of whether the impellers could pose a danger to the users. Most people tend to mistake the impellers for blades which isn’t the case.
Garbage disposals have sharp metallic impellers, not blades, that chops the food wastes into smaller bits. The running water of the sink tap helps drain these food waste bits easing drainage.
However, based on the speed and force at which the metallic impellers move, they may be hazardous and fatal—for instance, dipping your hand into the garbage disposal while it’s working could risk cutting or serious injury. This is primarily due to the moving force of the impellers upon activation by the electric motor component.
Certain models of the garbage disposal model may appear safer than others. The batch feed model has a unique cover-top compared to its continuous feed unit. This cover-top helps prevent accidental fall of objects into the sink-drain when the garbage disposal is in action.
The stopper helps avoid such injuries and is best when children are prone to playing around the kitchen sink without adult supervision.
What Happens if You Get Your Hand Stuck in a Garbage Disposal?
If your hand gets stuck in the garbage disposal, immediately ensure that the appliance is powered down. This aspect reduces the risk of hand injury by the grinding impellers of the garbage disposal.
Then, carefully pour a detergent down your stuck hand to lubricate. It’s important to note that you don’t use grease or oils as these may potentially clog the pipes and damage the disposal appliance.
When your hand is slippery and well covered with the detergent, slowly and gently pull your hand up the sink mouth.
If you remain stuck despite the above efforts, you may have to call your local emergency providers for assistance.
Can a Garbage Disposal Destroy Your Hand?
Sometimes, when the garbage disposal is non-functional, even after switching on, it may be tempting to insert your hand into the sink in an attempt to troubleshoot.
In other instances, the garbage disposal may malfunction, having been on for a while. This aspect may trigger most people to insert their hands into the sink.
This is a dangerous stance as it exposes you to the risk of injury if the grinder goes back on.
A garbage disposal won’t entirely destroy your hand if it finds its way down the sink while the grinder is on. The force of the fast-moving, metallic impellers aren’t capable of slicing off or otherwise dismembering your hand, but they can cause severe cuts to your fingers.
Can You Get Hurt by a Garbage Disposal?
When it comes to garbage disposal, the appliance is electric-powered. There’s always a risk of electrocution in an environment where water and electricity are in use.
This aspect is especially so for a continuous feed model that needs an actual switch on for powering. However, an air switch model would help avoid electrocution through its signature cover-top that activates the garbage disposal.
You can get hurt by a garbage disposal when improperly using or handling the appliance. Potential risks include electrocution when using wet hands turning on the switch and cuts when dipping hands into the sink inlet while the appliance is on.
Practices such as using hot water while the garbage disposal is on could result in sink splashes causing danger of serious burns to you. In addition, sometimes users tend to overload the garbage disposal causing a strain on the appliance.
This aspect may result in malfunctioning of the disposal equipment, which may tempt users to insert their hand in the sink to rectify the stall risking injuries upon appliance restoration.
When the disposal appliance runs on overload, splashbacks of food waste and water from the open sink could irritate and harm the eye on contact.
The dangers of garbage disposal mainly comprise electrocution, splashbacks, and the danger of fatal cuts resulting from appliance handling mistakes.
Final Thoughts
Garbage disposal is an essential kitchen appliance that helps in kitchen waste management. Overall, most garbage disposal hazards result from poor handling or human mistakes.
It’s ill-advised to put your finger in a garbage disposal appliance. Care needs to be taken while handling this equipment to avoid hazards.
Sources
- Dick Ray Master Plumber Heating and Cooling: Garbage Disposal Safety 101
- Lacademie: Batch Feed Vs. Continuous Feed Garbage Disposal: Which One To Choose?
- Michaels Plumbing and Drain Cleaning Services: How Sharp Are The Garbage Disposal Blades?
- The Spruce: Troubleshooting Garbage Disposal Problems
You may also be interested in…Do You Need a Garbage Disposal if You Have a Dishwasher?
Allan Wilson who in the offline world has an extensive background working in research, analyzing statistics, improving work processes, team leading, and implementing training to improve results and now thanks to more than 3 years dedicated to this site is now also a highly regarded researcher of brands.
Allan has a long history of developing brands online way back before blogging existed creating websites using HTML code in Notepad. Allan established brands in the Info Product Marketing arena such as infoproductmarketing, ebookresellerkit, reprintrightsmarketing, along with many other successful websites (and a few failures along the way). Allan has also authored numerous ebooks, owned and operated membership sites, created eLearning courses, and more.
