Garbage Disposals
Most garbage disposals fail because of abuse. Many people tend to overwork their garbage disposals.
Here are some common mistakes:
Overloading: Put stuff into your garbage disposer a little bit at a time. If you shove a whole bunch of stuff in there at once, it could clog the blades or burn out the motor.
Running it dry: When you use your garbage disposals, always run some cold water at the same time. This will keep the motor from overheating. Continue to run cold water down the drain for at least a minute after you turn the disposal off. This will clean off the blades.
Dumping in the wrong stuff: Try to avoid putting foods that have a lot of fiber into the garbage disposal. These foods tend to clog up the works. Avoid onion skins, chives, celery, carrot, and potato skins, at least in large doses.
Over-greasing: Don’t put animal fat down the disposer. When it cools, it will congeal and clog the blades and the motor. It’s also doesn’t smell very good.
Grinding up solid matter: If you think something solid has fallen in there, get out your flashlight and look in. AFTER TURNING OFF THE POWER -Pull it out (carefully!) with a pair of tongs. Don’t use your fingers!
If your disposals no longer works when you turn on the switch then you may have tripped the overload switch. Let the disposer cool and then you can reset it. Just push down the reset button, which is usually a little red button and located on the bottom of the unit. If you can’t find a reset button, it may have a thermal breaker and automatically reset after cooling.
If your disposal doesn’t make a sound when you turn it on you may have tripped a circuit. Check the breaker box and reset any breakers or fuses.
If the unit’s motor is humming but not running, it could be jammed. Look under the disposal. Your unit may come with a crank and flywheel that you can turn to manually release the jam. If not, there may be a socket (Allen socket) in the center of the bottom of the disposal. This is for the special wrench that came with the unit. If you’ve lost the wrench you can just use an Allen key in the socket.
If you have none of these special features or if you can’t get them to work, put a wooden broom handle into the sink. Move the blades back and forth until the jam is gone. Don’t use your fingers.
If your disposer is clogged, put a snake into the trap cleanout. Push the snake up towards the sink or towards the wall, depending on where the clog is. If you can’t find a snake, take the trap out and see if you can get the blockage out.
If your disposal still isn’t working give us a call and we will be happy to service it for you!
