InSinkErator EVOLUTION 1HP 1 HP, Advanced Series Continuous Feed Food Waste Garbage Disposal, Gray

Why it's worth it

This is the disposal to buy if noise is the reason you're shopping at all. Layered SoundSeal insulation and four-stage grinding keep everyday scraps from turning into a roar, and InSinkErator backs it with a 10-year warranty that sends a technician to your house.

Sound control is the whole design, not a bullet point. InSinkErator wraps this model in its quietest SoundSeal package and adds a removable Quiet Collar baffle at the sink opening. That baffle is the part people underestimate. It's the lid on the noise, and it pops out for cleaning when the sink starts to smell. Published reviews consistently put this unit at the quiet end of the category, and it's what other brands get measured against.

Four-stage grinding keeps the motor from screaming. Most of the racket from an older disposal is strain. A stringy celery stalk or a wad of potato peels binds the plate and the motor groans. This one grinds in stages, so waste gets progressively finer instead of packing into a single chamber. Fewer jams means fewer of those moments where you kill the power and go fishing with tongs.

From our review of 9 noise-reducing garbage disposals, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Sound control is the whole design, not a bullet point
• +Four-stage grinding keeps the motor from screaming
• +A full horsepower means it rarely has to work hard
• +You can install it yourself on a Saturday

What to know

• –It takes up real estate
• –The power cord isn't included
• –It's the most expensive unit here