3 ms·

There aren't huge rat problems in the US, and having to clean out the sink drain filter multiple times per day is a disgusting waste of time. I split my time b

by sneak 3y ago

There aren't huge rat problems in the US, and having to clean out the sink drain filter multiple times per day is a disgusting waste of time. I split my time between Germany and the US and the lack of a garbage disposal in the kitchen sink is a constant annoyance. (It's nothing to do with fatty foods; the reasoning provided seems like a red herring.)

mschuster91 3y ago
> There aren't huge rat problems in the US New York's rat problem is world-(in)famous, as is San Francisco's. > and having to clean out the sink drain filter multiple times per day is a disgusting waste of time. Yeah, if you're peeling onions and potatoes over the sink instead of a bio-waste container. Do it like Germans do (in fact, if you look up your community's Abfallsatzung you may be required to) and you won't need to clean that thing more often than once every few months.
- sneak 3y ago
  The hundreds of millions of homes in the US not in NYC and SF also ~all have garbage disposals and no major rat problems. (NYC banned garbage disposals until the '90s when it was lifted, and its rat population predates that by over a century.). I don't ever peel anything over the sink, it's just the small particles of stuff from washing that fills up the filter. This isn't a "you're holding it wrong". I get the impression it's a similar objection to air conditioning: it's regarded as foreign, atypical, and unnecessary luxury, so plausible justifications about why it's bad are trotted out. One of my favorite parts of visiting asia is discovering what fun new things have been electrified and automated. It seems europeans tend to have the opposite culture, and regard using electricity as vaguely sinful.
  - eru 3y ago
    Here in Singapore those sink garbage macerator are not common, and I haven't seen them elsewhere in Asia so far. (I'm considering whether it would make sense for us to install one.) But in no country that I visited without those macerators do people clean their sinks multiple times a day. Are you sure you aren't 'holding it wrong'?
  - mschuster91 3y ago
    > I don't ever peel anything over the sink, it's just the small particles of stuff from washing that fills up the filter. That's still weird. Standard German kitchen sinks have a very coarse filter [1], it's almost impossible to clog these up with anything but potato and onion peel segments. [1] https://www.obi.de/edelstahlspuelen/pyramis-einbauspuele-ca-1-edelstahl/p/8200370 https://www.obi.de/edelstahlspuelen/pyramis-einbauspuele-ca-...
eru 3y ago
> ... and having to clean out the sink drain filter multiple times per day is a disgusting waste of time. What are you doing to your sink?
davidktr 3y ago
I went jogging in Brooklyn (Williamsburg) and stepped on a huge rat. Poor dude was just having breakfast in one of the garbage heaps on the sidewalk. Never experienced that in Europe before.
- AndyMcConachie 3y ago
  In Utrecht The Netherlands it's common for bars and restaurants in the old town to have cats that stay with the location. Locations would change hands, and the cats stayed at that location. I used to live there and the rodent problem is real. There was a great book about it a few years back where they wrote up a little piece on each cat at each location. And yes, I had a cat in my house because without a cat you get mice. Paris is also notorious for its rat problem. To say that Europe doesn't have rats is just silly.
miskin 3y ago
In EU we typically have separate waste bin for food leftovers that I expect would go to this garbage disposal in kitchen sink. So if you put the food leftovers to separate garbage bin, there's pretty much nothing that will end up in drain filter to be cleared. It's just different routine. I think you also misread the response about the fatty foods. I don't feel it was related to fatty food in USA, it was more in a sense that if you shred fat leftovers, it will eventually clog some pipe down the line.

by sneak 3y ago

mschuster91 3y ago

> There aren't huge rat problems in the US New York's rat problem is world-(in)famous, as is San Francisco's. > and having to clean out the sink drain filter multiple times per day is a disgusting waste of time. Yeah, if you're peeling onions and potatoes over the sink instead of a bio-waste container. Do it like Germans do (in fact, if you look up your community's Abfallsatzung you may be required to) and you won't need to clean that thing more often than once every few months.

sneak 3y ago
The hundreds of millions of homes in the US not in NYC and SF also ~all have garbage disposals and no major rat problems. (NYC banned garbage disposals until the '90s when it was lifted, and its rat population predates that by over a century.). I don't ever peel anything over the sink, it's just the small particles of stuff from washing that fills up the filter. This isn't a "you're holding it wrong". I get the impression it's a similar objection to air conditioning: it's regarded as foreign, atypical, and unnecessary luxury, so plausible justifications about why it's bad are trotted out. One of my favorite parts of visiting asia is discovering what fun new things have been electrified and automated. It seems europeans tend to have the opposite culture, and regard using electricity as vaguely sinful.
- eru 3y ago
  Here in Singapore those sink garbage macerator are not common, and I haven't seen them elsewhere in Asia so far. (I'm considering whether it would make sense for us to install one.) But in no country that I visited without those macerators do people clean their sinks multiple times a day. Are you sure you aren't 'holding it wrong'?
- mschuster91 3y ago
  > I don't ever peel anything over the sink, it's just the small particles of stuff from washing that fills up the filter. That's still weird. Standard German kitchen sinks have a very coarse filter [1], it's almost impossible to clog these up with anything but potato and onion peel segments. [1] https://www.obi.de/edelstahlspuelen/pyramis-einbauspuele-ca-1-edelstahl/p/8200370 https://www.obi.de/edelstahlspuelen/pyramis-einbauspuele-ca-...

eru 3y ago

> ... and having to clean out the sink drain filter multiple times per day is a disgusting waste of time. What are you doing to your sink?

davidktr 3y ago

I went jogging in Brooklyn (Williamsburg) and stepped on a huge rat. Poor dude was just having breakfast in one of the garbage heaps on the sidewalk. Never experienced that in Europe before.

AndyMcConachie 3y ago
In Utrecht The Netherlands it's common for bars and restaurants in the old town to have cats that stay with the location. Locations would change hands, and the cats stayed at that location. I used to live there and the rodent problem is real. There was a great book about it a few years back where they wrote up a little piece on each cat at each location. And yes, I had a cat in my house because without a cat you get mice. Paris is also notorious for its rat problem. To say that Europe doesn't have rats is just silly.

miskin 3y ago

In EU we typically have separate waste bin for food leftovers that I expect would go to this garbage disposal in kitchen sink. So if you put the food leftovers to separate garbage bin, there's pretty much nothing that will end up in drain filter to be cleared. It's just different routine. I think you also misread the response about the fatty foods. I don't feel it was related to fatty food in USA, it was more in a sense that if you shred fat leftovers, it will eventually clog some pipe down the line.