A garbage disposal is a handy kitchen appliance, but they get a lot of use and abuse and they eventually jam or break. If you garbage disposal has stopped working, you may be able to get it going again without having to call the plumber.
First, before you do anything with your garbage disposal, remember to never put your hand into the disposal for any reason. A garbage disposal can grind up your fingers just as quickly as it can grind up kitchen waste so keep your hands out of your garbage disposal.
If you push the switch and nothing happens – no humming sound from the disposal and no grinding, then you may have an electrical problem. If the garbage disposal was overloaded, it may have tripped the reset button or your circuit breaker. Look on the bottom of the disposal for the red reset button. Press the reset button and see if the disposal works or at least hums.
If not, check your circuit breaker. If resetting the circuit breaker or reset button does not help, then it’s time to call the plumber. If you can now hear a humming sound coming from the disposal when you turn it on, then the most likely problem is that the disposal is jammed.
You can try to free a jammed disposal by either of two methods. You can try to turn the disposal using a special wrench that fits into the hole on the bottom of the disposal. If you cannot get it to turn using the wrench (or if you don’t have a wrench), use a broomstick through the drain to try to dislodge the jammed disposal. If you can break the jammed disposal loose, try the switch again to see if the disposal is operating again. Check to see if the circuit breaker or reset switch tripped.
If none of these techniques fixed the problem, call a plumber who handles kitchen repairs. Your plumber may be able to repair the problem, or it may be time for a new garbage disposal.
