Fixing A Garbage Disposal [Archive]

timvp

10-12-2004, 04:56 PM

http://www.anaheimmfg.com/media/images/disposers/bonecrusher/750.jpg

Okay so ... it stopped working. I flip the switch and there is just a soft humming sound.

Being the great handyman I am, I've decided to give up ask the forum for advice.

Shelly

10-12-2004, 05:00 PM

Is it clogged? If so, plunge and plunge and plunge. It may take awhile, but it will work.

I found that potato peels love to clog a disposal if you shove a bunch down at a time.

jalbre6

10-12-2004, 05:05 PM

1- unplug it
2- remove rubber drain cover
3- dump generic Drano stuff in (at least a full bottle)
4- let settle for one hour
5- run water for 5 minutes
6- dump gallon of bleach in
7- run water for 5 minutes
8- replace rubber drain cover
9- plug back in
10- flip switch, see if it works

If that doesn't work, something solid is probably caught in the turbine. You can usually take the casing over that part off with a Phillips screwdriver, and then work out the stuck piece-of-whatever with your hand. Make sure you fully disconnect the unit, including hoses. You can get quite a mess otherwise.

If none of that works, it's well beyond me.

timvp

10-12-2004, 05:08 PM

Let me go see if that works.

BRB :)

Useruser666

10-12-2004, 05:08 PM

Sounds jammed. Reach in there (with it OFF!) and for silverware or another obstruction. Try rotating the blades by hand forward or backward,
You may use an open end wrench to try and turn the blades. If it takes too much force and you start bending the blades, you're better off taking the disposal out from under the sink and trying again. If that fails, you're looking at getting a new one.

Tip: To keep a disposal running well, try running ice cubes through it after heavy usage. The ice cleans the blades and help clear debris that can build up over time. Remember, ALWAYS run water when running the disposal!

Shelly

10-12-2004, 05:13 PM

Once I got a popcorn kernal stuck in there. Man, that was a bitch to get out.

ducks

10-12-2004, 05:16 PM

put your hand in it and tell your wife to turn it on

bigzak25

10-12-2004, 05:16 PM

sometimes there's a fuse or something that needs to be replaced which is on the side of the unit somewhere.......but if it's humming, it's probobaly jammed as all are suggesting....goodluck man.....

jalbre6

10-12-2004, 05:17 PM

The culprit here always seems to be bottle caps.

Kori Ellis

10-12-2004, 05:19 PM

One time I had a penny in my garbage disposal in L.A. But I never used these methods before. I would always just call a plumber.

Shelly

10-12-2004, 05:25 PM

Well, what plumbers like to charge, I'd try to DYI first.

A few years ago, I had a pinhole leak in one of my sprinkler pipes. Cost for the plumber? $75. Cost for the part? $25.

BTW, make sure Timvp has the plumber's butt look going on as he's plumbing. If he doesn't, nothing will work!

timvp

10-12-2004, 05:39 PM

It works! :elephant

Looked like a combination of food and metal were stuck in there. After I thought I'd cleaned it all out, I turned it on and some metal pieces were shooting out of there. But now it's running smoothly.

Thanks, guys and gals.

Hook Dem

10-12-2004, 05:43 PM

score One For Timvp ;)

jalbre6

10-12-2004, 05:48 PM

Maybe you'll "earn a Spur" for fixing the garbage disposal.

exstatic

10-12-2004, 05:55 PM

^^^Rack that!

After I thought I'd cleaned it all out, I turned it on and some metal pieces were shooting out of there. :wow
Kori, spoons are NOT disposal fodder. :p

CosmicCowboy

10-12-2004, 05:57 PM

uhhh guys...

you don't normally have to go through all those gyrations of cleaning it from the inside when it gets jammed...(humming like TimVP's)...virtually all garbage disposals have a socket for an allen (hex) wrench on the end of the shaft...(and actually come with one when you buy it)...of course if you are in a new house the plumber that installed it probably threw it away...just open the door under the sink and turn the motor manually with the wrench to get it free and and then turn it on at the switch to check it...it rarely takes more than a couple of times doing this to unjam one...since my hands are too big to fit in the disposer anyway thats the way I do it all the time...and the person that mentioned the reset is correct also...if you overheat the motor trying to make it work when it is jammed it will pop the heater on the motor and you have to reset the circuit...usually a red button on the side of the unit...

SpursWoman

10-12-2004, 06:14 PM

uhhh guys...

you don't normally have to go through all those gyrations of cleaning it from the inside when it gets jammed...(humming like TimVP's)...virtually all garbage disposals have a socket for an allen (hex) wrench on the end of the shaft...(and actually come with one when you buy it)...of course if you are in a new house the plumber that installed it probably threw it away...just open the door under the sink and turn the motor manually with the wrench to get it free and and then turn it on at the switch to check it...it rarely takes more than a couple of times doing this to unjam one...since my hands are too big to fit in the disposer anyway thats the way I do it all the time...and the person that mentioned the reset is correct also...if you overheat the motor trying to make it work when it is jammed it will pop the heater on the motor and you have to reset the circuit...usually a red button on the side of the unit...

I learned that one a long time ago....my allen wrench is in the drawer right next to the sink. Although, my hands fit down the drain. :lol

I told you, plumbing is next on my list of things I'm going to learn. :)

Useruser666

10-13-2004, 08:34 AM

Women do have some complicated plumbing. :lol

AlamoSpursFan

10-13-2004, 08:40 AM

We just throw our food scraps outside and let the cats and dogs fight over them.

:lol

Shelly

10-13-2004, 08:52 AM

I told you, plumbing is next on my list of things I'm going to learn.

Starring SpursWoman as:

http://www.tvacres.com/josephine_comet1.jpg