Dumbwaiters are small freight elevators that are intended to carry food, books or other small freight loads rather than passengers. They often connect kitchens to rooms on other floors. They usually do not have the same safety features found in passenger elevators, like various ropes for redundancy. They have a lower capacity.
Dumb waiter lifts are usually seen around commercial kitchens as it allows the kitchen staff and chefs, and the restaurant serving staff, to pass items between floors without dangerous or time consuming journeys up and down stairs with breakable plates and the like.
Hotels also use dumbwaiter lifts for transporting items like laundry or cleaning products between floors.Larger private homes sometimes install a dumb waiter lift too, providing convenience and a method for transporting items. House staff can also use the lift in the same way a hotel or restaurant would as well.