Garbage Disposal Replacement in Post Falls, ID

Few people replacing a disposal have had a reason to ask where the sink empties, and in Post Falls the answer can differ from one house to the next. Under city code (Section 13.16.010), a home that was on a working septic system when its land was annexed can keep using it until it fails or sewer service reaches the property. When a system fails, the code requires that the property connect to any available sewer line or, if none is available, repair or replace the system to meet health district standards.

Which system is the house on?

The purchase paperwork or old pumping receipts can often tell you. Panhandle Health District's septic guide asks owners to keep a diagram of the system showing the tank's location and depth, its inspection covers, and the boundaries of the drainfield; a diagram left with the house is another place to look. A water reclamation charge on the city bill does not answer it on its own: the charge applies to homes connected to the sewer and to developed property that may contribute to surface water flows, so the city's water reclamation office is the place to ask. A house built after its land was already in the city is unlikely to be on septic, since new construction has to connect to the sewer, and an addition of 25% or more also requires a connection.

In a sewer system, what the disposal grinds leaves the house with the rest of the wastewater. In a septic system, those solids collect in the tank. The guide lists overuse of garbage disposals among the main causes of septic system failure, alongside overuse of water from leaky faucets or continuously running toilets, and the note under its pumping table says that if a garbage disposal is used, the table's estimates should be halved. Ground food adds solids to the tank, which cuts into its liquid capacity, pushes more solids out to the drainfield, gives the tank's bacteria more to break down, and brings the next pumping sooner.

For a household of four on a 1,000-gallon tank, the table gives about two and a half years between pumpings without a disposal. Halved, that comes to roughly a year and a quarter. For two people, the table gives six years, so about three with a disposal; for six people, it gives a year and a half, so about nine months.

A working disposal on septic means pumping more often, and whether that is worth it is the owner's call, best made before the new unit goes in. Raise it with whoever pumps the tank, who may be able to say how much had built up at the last pumping. With the date of that pumping in hand, counting forward by the halved interval gives a rough idea of when the next one falls due. The yardstick is the sludge layer: inspect the tank each year and pump it once sludge reaches 40% of the total liquid depth, and a disposal adds to that layer.

Yes. The septic guide is direct about that case: “Avoid extensive use of a kitchen garbage grinder even if the septic system is specifically designed to handle one.” A tank sized for a disposal still collects what the disposal grinds, so the company that pumps it can set a schedule that fits how the sink gets used. Undersized tanks and drainfields are also on the guide's list of causes of failure, so a tank sized without a disposal in mind is worth raising with the pumper too.

Coffee grounds and cooking fats are among the items that “fill the septic tank rapidly, decreasing its efficiency and increasing the need for pumping,” and grease “can build up in the tank and plug the inlet.” Those belong in the trash. Whatever goes down the sink on septic, ground food included, ends up in the tank, so less of it through the disposal means less to pump out.

Taking a disposal out without fitting a new one means changing the plumbing under the sink, which is on the list of work outside the swap below.

The service call is $89. It covers travel, inspection, and diagnostic time. It goes toward the repair if you go ahead, and it stands on its own if you decide not to.

Parts and labor are warranted for 30 to 90 days as stated on your invoice, with the full terms at Warranty.

Zero-interest financing through Wisetack is available on repairs over $500 for eligible customers, and active-duty service members and veterans get 15% off labor. Terms are at Financing.

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