Garbage disposals?

43POSTS

6 years ago

When we were down in Ecuador past November we can鈥檛 remember if we saw any garbage disposals like they have in the United States where it鈥檚 attached to your sink my wife wanted me to buy one here in America and bring it down with us so we can install it in our sink but I told her that maybe there鈥檚 a reason for that like the plumbing can鈥檛 handle that type of debris.聽聽Does anybody know if that鈥檚 the case? Do they use garbage disposals they鈥檙e the kind that鈥檚 attached to the bottom of the kitchen sink? Thanks in advance

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HelenPivoine Contributor

136POSTS

6 years ago

There is a reason why no one puts toilet paper down in the toilet / the plumbing is very low pressure and cannot handle it.聽 Likely the same would apply to your garbage disposal unit within a sink.

user159 Contributor

165POSTS

6 years ago

Never seen them here in Ecuador.

Food waste to a compost bin.

Recyclable waste into a separate bin and left in a separate area for the people who collect it

Other waste into the main trash

rriiccaarrddoo Active member

43POSTS

6 years ago

Yeah I figured there was a reason we didn鈥檛 see them there.聽 glad I reached out before we wasted our money and bought one or worse yet screwed up our plumbing six months from now
Gracias

jwhalen55 Member

15POSTS

6 years ago

Hi There All.

I'm not sure about the comment about the toilet paper here. So when one uses the restroom down there, if the toilet paper doesn't go into the toilet, where does it go??

Cheers,

rriiccaarrddoo Active member

43POSTS

6 years ago

So I鈥檓 don鈥檛 know exactly if you鈥檙e asking when you say down here do you mean what happened to the toilet paper that we flushed down the toilet in America? It just goes out the sewer system.聽聽If you鈥檙e asking where they put the toilet paper once they鈥檙e done in Ecuador normally there鈥檚 always a trashcan right next to the toilet and as gross as it sounds they throw it in the trashcan聽聽聽Now with that being said I鈥檝e read a couple posts that people say that that鈥檚 no longer the issue and that you can flush toilet paper down the toilet in Ecuador but one I鈥檓 not sure if that鈥檚 true and be even if it is I think it鈥檚 just something they grew up doing in so even though you may be able to flush toilet paper down the toilet in Ecuador most still put it in the trashcan

OsageArcher Colombia Expert

1657POSTS

6 years ago

One way to tell what the problems are in a given place - see who/what is advertised on the street to fix them.聽 I'd bet that in much of Ecuador, like Colombia, you see signs for plumbers plastered on every light and telephone pole in residential areas ("Destapamos Ca帽er铆a Sin Romper" and the like) - in Colombia also, toilet paper in the plumbing can and does clog the system.聽 In Puerto Rico you see advertisements everywhere for roof repairs ("Sellado de Techo Profesional" etc.) - they build so many flat roofs and so many of them leak.聽 Why they don't have more sloped roofs is a mystery in a country that receives so much rainfall...

The main problems with the plumbing are poor design, poor construction and poor or no maintenance.聽 They often use too-small diameter pipes, or clay pipes that break that have been in place 50 years or more, that are poorly-designed and poorly constructed because everyone is always trying to cut corners and save money.

1 member reacted to this post

lebowski888 Serial expat

318POSTS

6 years ago

Poor design plumbing design is right, and very common in anything built before the mid 90s.

In our building, the drains were at least sized appropriately. However, our pipes don't have adequate air venting. Leads to frequent back ups and slow draining
I imported and installed an Oatey air admittance valve for our kitchen drain

I stayed at a Airbnb in Puerto Lopez. The shower had a half inch drain pipe. Constantly backing up.

Inspect the pipes in your property, and if you have the money, upgrade to 2019 international plumbing codes:

Minimums:
1.5" bath sink drain
1.5" kitchen drain
2" shower/bath drain
2" washing machine drain
3" single toilet
4" multi toilet on the same line
3" or 4" drain to public sewer, depends on local code

Plus air stack venting: 1.5" plumbing air vent connecting to main air vents is sufficient

Main air vent: 4" for area with freeze,聽 3" air vent no freeze. a condensate bend in main vent is necessary.

Practical how to advice:

rriiccaarrddoo Active member

43POSTS

6 years ago

Thank you sir good advice I will definitely look into it

user159 Contributor

165POSTS

6 years ago

#10

rriiccaarrddoo wrote:
Now with that being said I鈥檝e read a couple posts that people say that that鈥檚 no longer the issue and that you can flush toilet paper down the toilet in Ecuador but one I鈥檓 not sure if that鈥檚 true

Perhaps in the more modern cities in a new build fancy apartment complex, but generally you cannot. And people online may be of the view "well I flush the toilet paper and not had a problem". Obviously it doesn't block up instantly, but probably you should add a "... yet" to their statements.

1 member reacted to this post