You probably have one at home in your kitchen sink. You might have used one before if you worked as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. A garbage disposal is used on a regular basis to break down a lot of large particles (namely food and other small pieces of trash).
When you hear the whirring sound of it sucking in the food and debris, it can make your hair stand on end. You dare not put your hand down in one of those things, even if something is stuck.
But what happens if you really did?
The video we linked here is definitely worth a watch, but we’ll answer the question shortly as well.
A lot of us want to exercise our curiosity by trying dangerous things. Or you might want to retrieve something that might cause the device itself to stop working. Also, it’s not worth the risk to try something stupid to impress your buddies or because you “live dangerously”. Serious injury can occur if you pull off some stunts like this.
With that in mind, let’s answer that million dollar question:
How A Garbage Disposal Works
Garbage disposals come with moving parts. As you can see on All The Stuff, two small parts do a lot of back and forth pushing while the base spins around. However, the side of the garbage disposal has sharp blades.
While they are not shaped like typical blades you see on a knife, they are sharp enough to do a lot of cutting and grinding. There is a hole where it connects to the water supply and will wash out all the particles.
Once you power it on, it will spin and push around the food particles at a high-speed rate. They will also be reduced into smaller bits before it is drained out completely. If you took a quarter of an apple, it’s instant applesauce in a matter of seconds.
What Happens If You Put Your Hand In It?
Now, the answer you’ve been waiting for. Before we continue, no humans experimented with this before the writing of this article. Therefore, no one was harmed either.
Common sense would tell you that it would be dangerous to put your hand close to something sharp and spinning at high speeds. Unfortunately, though, these things do happen. And it keeps the ER doctors pretty busy.
No, your hand isn’t going to get obliterated like a piece of apple or a vegetable. But your hand may be seriously injured to the point where amputation may be needed. There will be plenty of damage to the skin and bones without question.
Also, the injury can become fatal since there will be a good amount of bleeding involved. If that happens, you’ll want to apply pressure to the wound and stop the bleeding as fast as possible. Dial 911 for immediate emergency medical attention.
Final Thoughts
It’s never a good idea to put your hand in a garbage disposal. Especially when you need to retrieve something that is stuck or do something that might be considered a stupid dare. In the event of the former, be sure to cut the power to your home safely before removing what may be lodged.
Once you have moved the object, you can turn the power back on and check the disposal to see if it’s functioning properly. There should be no reason why you should stick your hand down it. Don’t let a stupid mistake cost you one of your hands.