Garbage disposals and safety

Not many people know how disposals really work so this is more like a mystery to them. Some people believe there is some kind of blades inside or some dangerous grinder. According to popular series „Heroes“, most people believe that garbage disposal can mangle their hands. Obviously if you are a cheerleader you have nothing to worry about (pun intended).

Reality is somewhere in between. While it is not recommended to try and put your hands into a running disposal, it would not hurt you that much. And of course your reflex action would pull your hand out as soon as the disposal would start beating your fingers. Your hand would suffer some bruises and scratches for sure. But the same applies to a hand blender or similar home appliance. According to the US Customer Protection Agency, there is a 10 times higher chance that you will get hurt by your dishwasher than your garbage disposal.

So is there something to worry about? Using your common sense and treating a running garbage disposal with respect like you do with a sharp knife, boiling water or a glass bottle. This is all we can say.