The two major national home inspector associations each have a different view of garbage disposals: one requires testing and the other doesn't. The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) states that “the home inspector is not required to inspect or move any household appliances,” while the Standards of Practice of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) says that “the inspector shall inspect installed ovens, ranges, surface cooking appliances, microwave ovens, dishwashing machines, and food waste grinders by using normal operating controls to activate the primary function."

     The State of Florida’s Standards of Practice for home inspectors expects garbage disposals to be examined. It states that “the inspector shall inspect household appliances to determine whether the appliances are significantly deficient using normal operating controls.”

     However, all the inspectors we know actually do examine the garbage disposal and briefly test it. 

    Click on any of the links below to read other articles about what is required to be included, or not, in a home inspection:

AFCI •• Air conditioner •• Ants •• Appliance recalls •• Appliance testing •• Attic •• Awnings •• Barns and ag blgs. •• Bathroom exhaust fan •• Bonding •• Carpet •• Ceiling fans •• Central vacuum •• Chimneys •• Chinese drywall •• Clothes dryer •• Dryer exhaust •• CO alarms •• Code violations •• Condemn a house •• Crawl space •• Detached carport •• Detached garage •• Dishwasher •• Docks •• Doors •• Electrical •• Electrical panel •• Electromagnetic radiation •• Fences •• Fireplaces •• Furnace •• Furniture •• Garage door opener •• Garbage disposal •• Generator •• GFCIs •• Gutters •• Ice maker •• Inspect in the rain •• Insulation •• Insurance •• Interior Finishes •• Grading & drainage •• Lead paint •• Level of thoroughness •• Lift carpet •• Low voltage wiring •• Microwave •• Mold •• Move things •• Help negotiate •• Not allowed •• Outbuildings •• Paint •• Permits •• Pilot lights •• Plumbing •• Plumbing under slab •• Pools •• Questions won't answer •• Radon •• Range/cooktop •• Receptacle outlet •• Refrigerator •• Reinspection •• Remove panel cover •• Repairs •• Repair estimates •• Retaining walls •• Roaches •• Rodents •• Roof •• Screens •• Seawalls •• Septic loading dye test •• Septic tank •• Sewer lines •• Shower pan leak test •• Shutters •• Sinkholes •• Smoke alarms •• Solar panels •• Specify repairs •• Sprinklers •• Termites •• Toilets •• Trees •• Troubleshooting •• Wall air conditioners •• Walk roof •• Washing machine •• Water heater •• Water pressure •• Water shut-offs •• Main water shut-off •• Water softener •• Water treatment systems •• Well •• Windows •• Window air conditioners •• Window blinds •• Wiring 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Here’s links to some of our other our blog posts about "DOES A HOME INSPECTOR…?":

• Does a home inspector give cost estimates for repairs?

• Can a home inspector do repairs to a house after doing the inspection? 

• Does a home inspector lift up the carpet to look for cracks in the floor? 

• What are the questions a home inspector won't (or shouldn't) answer?

• Does a home inspector make sure the house is up to code? 

• How thorough is a home inspector required to be when inspecting a house?

• Does a home inspector check for permits? 

• Is a home inspector allowed to open an electrical panel?

• Does a home inspector go into the crawl space under the house?

• Does a home inspector walk on the roof? 

• Does a home inspector go in the attic? 

• Does a home inspector specify repairs? 

• Does a home inspector reinspect to verify repairs after an inspection? 

    Visit our HOME INSPECTION  and “DOES A HOME INSPECTOR…?” pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.