Tips On Unclogging A Garbage Disposal

Do you have a garbage disposal that just wont drain

? Odds are that you probably put something down there that you weren't supposed to and now you have a disposal that wont grind, standing water in your sink or both. Don't worry though, fixing a clogged garbage disposal isn't the hardest thing in the world to fix, in fact it's really pretty easy.

First, we need to divide the problem up in to two categories, a disposal that is stuck or a sink that wont drain. They both may have the same cause but they have different solutions so you need to determine which problem you have. If you turn on your garbage disposal and you hear a buzzing sound rather than a grinding sound, then odds are you have a clogged disposal, if your disposal spins but water doesn't drain then you probably have a plugged drain.

Let's look at the clogged disposal first. Disposals get plugged fairly easy, especially when you put something down there that is thick and hard to grind up like a piece of meat or something falls in there like a hard piece of plastic. In order to free it up you need to clear whatever is blocking it, which is not too hard to do. First take some plastic tongs and see if you can clear the clog from the top side. Do not, I repeat do not, stick your fingers in there or you may come out with less than you started with.

If you cant clear the plug, find the allen wrench that came with the disposal. If you cant find it don't worry, you can buy one at the hardware store for around six bucks. Turn off the power to the circuit breaker and get underneath the disposal and you will notice a small hole directly in the center. Place the allen wrench in the hole and spin it clockwise and counter clockwise until the jam is free and you can spin without resistance. Once the debris is cleared turn the power back on, press the reset button and the disposal should be unplugged. Easy enough right?

If your disposal is cleared and the sink still wont drain then you have a plugged drainage pipe. This can happen quite frequently with peels from fruits or vegetables that can make it easily through the disposal but get clogged in the pipes. The good news is that unplugging these pipes is done the same way as with a toilet, and that is using a plunger. Take a clean plunger and place it directly over the sink. Press up and down as to force air through the pipe and force the clog further down the pipe. Repeat this five or six times and give the disposal a try. If it doesn't work keep repeating the process until it does.

If you have a particularly tough clog you may need to call a professional plumber to take the disposal and the pipes apart and clear it out by hand. I would not recommend taking the disposal apart yourself unless you really know what you are doing.

by: Jeff Williamson

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