Automatic Composter by NatureMill

Randy O.
1 review
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clean and easy

This is a good machine and I recommend it to anyone who wants to compost in a way that is easier than an outdoor bin or a worms. Once you set it up you can basically forget about it except to add food into it and then empty it once a month when the little light comes on. There is no smell and it is nearly silent. The first week takes some time to set it up.

Betty K.
1 review
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as advertised

It works like you would imagine. It's been about 6 months and now that winter is coming we really appreciate an automatic indoor composter so we don't have to go outside in the snow.

Be careful to follow the instructions or else it will jam. That happened to us once because we added bones which are not allowed. It does meat and fish though without any odor (much better than our regular trash bin which stinks the next day if we have fish for dinner and forget to take out the trash).

Don't get the white one. It looks pretty but gets dirty easily. Black would have been a much better choice.

Tyler T.
1 review
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XE is a vast improvement

I had the original Naturemill (from 2006?) and it worked very well for a number of years. It would jam up once in a while but their customer service was pretty good at helping me understand how to keep it running smoothly.

The compost was amazing of course. But it was kind of bulky and unfinished almost like a prototype.

Then I saw that they announced their 'new and improved' version so I figured I got enough mileage out of the last one and it was time for an upgrade. The price has come down a bit also which helps.

Let me tell you that the new one is like a completely different machine. It has a new light weight material and is smaller, but it handles much more compost that the old one without because of the more powerful motor.

It also can process meat, fish, dairy, and even pet waste which is different from the old one where you had to buy a separate model for the pet waste.

Overall this is a big step up for them and it is a product that I highly recommend.

.

Merril Z.
1 review
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good for apartments

This is a very good option if you live in a small apartment like I do. We have no backyard so a big old pile or a tumblihg thing is not an option. I researched vermicomposting but my roommates threatened to have me evicted if I brought worms in. So there were no other options.

The machine works very well and quietly hums away in the corner of our kitchen and nobody seems to notice it. I don't have to take the trash out very often because there is hardly anything in it these days - a real plus if you have to carry the trash down three flights of narrow steps. The compost comes out in a very small tray and we give it to our neighbor who has a garden.

Wendy Hill
1 review
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very good so far and still running

I have had my Naturemill PRO for about two years. It works very well. I do not have any prior experience with compost so I don't have much to compare it to though except for what I have read about other systems which seem to be difficult to tumble or you have to feed your worms as if they were pets.

Here is how it works: you put in your food scraps right from the kitchen into the upper compartment. Ours has a foot pedal which is very conevenient if your hands are full with plates and what not. Then the machine applies mixing and air flow automatically. You can hear it switch on every so often, kind of like a refrigerator turning on and off automatically only not as often. When the upper compartment fills up, and you cant recognize any of your scraps, then it is time to "transfer" it as they say, to the lower compartment. There is a button to activate the transfer. It takes about 10 minutes to do that and I think there is some sort of trap door in there although you really can't see it once you have food in it. After the transfer, some of that compost stays in the top compartment so that the next batch of food waste has some of the cultures to begin the process all over again.

Once or twice per month the red light comes on to tell you to empty the lower compartment, which is very easy because it is in a little red gardening tray. It helps if you cut things into smaller pieces so that they break down faster and don't jam. I have read some of the other reviews and it seems that some people are overloading it with too much compost all at once and then it doesn't mix enough and it can jam. It also helps if you balance the greens and browns but this is standard with all composting methods I think. I have not had any problems with odors or funny noises. I just read about their newer model which seems to be more powerful so now I am trying to see if they will upgrade me.

Sang C.
1 review
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it really works!

I have to say that I was a little skeptical when I first heard about this machine. I mean compost is SUPPOSED to be messy and difficult and full of worms and fruit flies and all that. But I tried the Naturemill and it really worked well. I got the new xe model which has been available for a few months and it was on sale at Costco. It has the bigger motor which does not jam. It is very clean and easy to use. I strongly recommend it.

Roger M.
1 review
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Nature Mill lame

It seems like such a good idea, but it stinks and jams way too easily. You almost need to grind your vegetable waste on a rock like the ancient people did with their maize if you don't want it to jam. We could use a more robust model of something like this. And $300 seemed like a rip-off for this product.

Roger's keywords: nature mill composter

Mark Fessler
1 review
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perfect!

This is the perfect composter. Finally! I have a bad back and no yard, so this is the only solution for me. I tried worms once but it nearly cost me my marriage. The Nature Mill is really easy to use and pretty much fool proof. No problems with jams or odors or noises. I can't believe how much trash it devours and it comes out like the best soil you have every seen. It is quite exciting to watch our son take control of the machine and tell us what we can add and when to transfer and how to keep it in balance. If an 8 year old can handle it then I think just about anyone can. This company has made very serious progress inventing and developing this new technology and they seem to have worked out the kinks by now. It was a new thing a few years ago.

Mark's keywords: compost naturemill nature mill composter

Wim W.
1 review
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good product but be careful of the jams

I should start by saying that I have one of the older versions of this product. The design is very basic but it gets the job done. It tends to jam up if you overload it or if you put very stringy items in it. Paper is definitely not a possibility. The newer models look quite a bit more robust and some day if I have the money I will upgrade.

Wim's keywords: compost recycle

Anna M.
1 review
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great product and service

This product is really good and also their service is very friendly. I had several questions starting it up, and I emailed them for help and they emailed me right back with quite a detailed explanation. I've made three of four batches and each one is better than the last - it takes some practice to get the balance just right.

Anna's keywords: compost

Steve S.
1 review
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wonderful product - get the XE though

This is a great product. Makes the most amazing compost in 14 days without fail because it is automatic and it does not forget to mix. Compost comes out hot and steamy, smelling a little earthy and nutty. Be sure to get the newer model - the XE version. Some of the stores still stock the older version, which does not hold up as well based on some of the earlier reviews. We got the PRO model which has the foot pedal and is very convenient if your hands are full or wet (as mine always are in the kitchen).

Damian R.
1 review
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Nature Mill Composter is HORRIBLE

Worst purchase ever:
• Doesn't heat, doesn't grind properly, stops working, jams on a regular basis...
• Horrible customer service to remedy my problems -- they really don't care about their customers
• Breaks down on a regular basis
• Smells like a dying horse who shat its pants (if it wore pants)
• Loud...very loud. Almost as loud as a vacuum when it's grinding.
• I cut everything before putting items in, however it still jams
• I can't wait for a real company like GE or Whirlpool to create a better one

Damian's keywords: NatureMill SUCKS

Adrian Stiles
1 review
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small machine, big appetite

This machine has a very big appetite despite its small footprint. It eats basically all of our table scraps, trimmings, coffee grounds, leftovers, and various unidentified things from the back of our fridge. We shop at farmers markets so we tend to have a lot of stems and stalks and what not. The only thing it doesn't do is pits and the big steak bones (chicken bones are ok). The mixing happens round the clock so even after half a day whatever you put in there gets ground down and dried out and turned to basically dirt with basically half the size. You can fill it up, and the next day fill it up again because it makes room. It has a quiet little hum all the time which is the air filter working. There is surprisingly no smell, unless you open the lid and then it is kind of like rain in the summer - slightly fresh and dusty but definitely not offensive. We have not yet used the compost but it does look very good and it has not attracted any flies or badgers (we used to get those and more from our old outdoor compost pile). We have their latest model (the XE PRO) which has the heavy duty features and it very solid in construction. If they can get the price down some day I can see how these will replace trash compactors and in-the-sink disposers, which are supposedly very bad for the local sewer treatment plants.

Kendra D.
1 review
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Cookin' compost!

This is a great machine and I highly recommend it. I've had mine long enough to grow cobwebs on my old compost bin which I don't use any more. It is just so much easier to use the NatureMill for just about everything (except yard debris). No smells, and no noise once it breaks in after the first few weeks. We hardly notice the machine any more.

Deborah - it says in the instructions to leave the compost in the machine as long as possible and they remove it when you are going to cycle again and you need the space. This is how we do it here. That way, the compost in the lower tray has more time to be processed even though it is just sitting in the tray, because it is warm and humid and the cultures like that.

Kendra's keywords: naturemill compost composter

Deborah S.
1 review
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Still in learning process.... but lovin' it so far.

The hum is like my fridge. I have a small 1 bedroom apt, and the kitchen shares a wall with my bedroom. Only woken up twice to hear the grinding that happens every 4 hours or so in the past 10 days I've had it. The first time I opened it (after day 1, just to see) it smelled like a rabbit hutch- a clean one.The sawdust pellets were all swollen. Then I waited the requisite week, and man, barely a smell at all. Now i've been adding veggies and stuff for the past few days, and it does smell, so I added in some baking soda, and more pellets... it's helping a bit.
One question I had was, when can I take out the compost from the tray? My friend did so as soon as there was something in the bin, said she threw it over her rose garden. I thought you were suppose to wait for the red light to come on- but does that only happen when it's full?
What I don't quite get is, if I'm continually adding to the top, and it moves it to the bottom once the particles are small enough, does it still need time to "brew" before it's ready? Do people tend to let it sit outside and dry up before using it on indoor plants?
Thanks for input!

S H.
1 review
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clean convenient composter

This is a MUCH easier way to compost than our old bin. You don't have to monitor it much at all. You do have to cut things into bit sized pieces otherwise they won't break down very fast and they can jam. It is nice that you can add fish too because that is what used to stink up our trash bin we used to have to take out the trash every time we ate fish. Now we don't. Very convenient. The compost is powerful as all heck - be careful not to use too much! That was never a problem before because our old tumbler was so slow we never had enough compost.

Angelina S.
1 review
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new version is HOT!

I just got the new version of this product and it is quite amazing. It is almost magic how the food just disappears into dirt within one or two days. It seem to be bit better than their older models. This company always seems to sell out so if you are seriously interested in buying this I would get it while they still have them in stock. It is only available through Costco and they have just started selling this newer model. I shopped around quite a bit and there are several of the older ones on eBay but they are the older technology. Buyer beware on the internet!

Sal T.
1 review
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like it very much

I like my composter very much. It is easier to use than a tumbling bin, and you can use it all year long instead of just when the weather is good. I have seen this product in more and more stores so even though the price has gone down and I paid too much, I am glad to see that they are being successful and more people will compost in the future. As other people have mentioned, be sure to read the instructions carefully especially the bit about not overloading it or else it will jam of course.

M Z.
1 review
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why didn't someone think of this earlier

This is a great product. It is so simple that I don't know why someone didn't invent it sooner. Possibly because it so difficult to make it work just right, as their earlier models seem to demonstrate. We have not had any odor problems at all, and it only jams on stale french bread (which we now cut up smaller).

Tina T.
1 review
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takes some practice but it works

The first week or two was a bit of a learning experience. You have to establish the bacteria cultures inside the machine by using your own backyard dirt and food scraps, plus sawdust that they include with the machine. They say to keep the machine closed because there will be odors during the first phase. And you have to balance the greens and browns, and be sure to not add any peach pits. But once all that is done properly the smell is like sourdough bread and the machine pretty much works smoothly as expected. Ours was noisy at first but then after a few weeks it became quiet although you wouldn't want it in the bedroom or living room. It is suitable for the kitchen. The compost is very dark and holds water well (our soils is very sandy so compost is important for us). We have almost no trash any more these days. Flies and other insects have always been a problem around our trash bin in the past where we live, but now without any kitchen trash lying out we see an improvement in that respect.