The Disposal

Stoppages and minor malfunctions are worth repairing. You are better off though replacing the entire unit if the motor goes out or the blades break. This is especially true if you deal with a plumbing company that warrants the product for 5-10 years or even longer.

Plumbing: Unjamming a Garbage Disposal

Jammed garbage disposals can be quite a nuisance especially when they clog up your kitchen sink. The good news is that it is often a simple task to unjam the disposal.

As you can see from the image above, a disposal will jam, or stop turning, when a foreign object such as a bone becomes caught up in the impeller blades.

You know your disposal is jammed if it makes a humming sound when the switch is turned on and it is not turning inside. If there is no sound when the switch is turned on, the unit probably became too hot and turned itself off.

Pressing the reset button on the bottom side of the disposal will restore power to the unit and it can be turned on again to see if it is still jammed.

If it is still jammed, you will need to use a tool in an effort to unjam it.

Note: never put your hand inside a garbage disposal and *always* turn the power off at the electrical panel while performing any repair work.

You can, however use a 1/4″ or 5/16″ Allen wrench. Simply insert the wrench from below and work it back and forth until it frees up. If it doesn’t free up, the disposal is bad and will need to be replaced.