Troubleshooting Your Garbage Disposal

Tip: Troubleshooting Your Garbage Disposal

Don't flip out the next time your garbage disposal quits working. Press the little reset button most models have and it will usually start again. If that fails, and you can hear the thing humming when you turn it on, make sure the disposal is off, fish around inside it to see if anything is caught under the blades and try again.

If it still won't work, get an Allen wrench (one of those L- or S-shaped thing-a-ma-bobs) find one that fits tightly in the hole on bottom of your disposal, and turn it back and forth until it moves freely. Test it again and it usually works.

By TxTiket2Ride2 from Fort Worth, TX

Feedback:

RE: Troubleshooting Your Garbage Disposal

I was told by a friend that is a handyman to never put my hands in the garbage disposal. I do and that is why he told me not to, something about them springing to life suddenly. (08/26/2009)

By sandy63

RE: Troubleshooting Your Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposals don't spring to life suddenly unless you hit the switch somehow, besides, if it did come to life, it wouldn't chop up your hand like all those movies and other media like to show it does, it would hurt your hand more than likely, but the blades can't cut into your hand, the disposal was only meant to chop up food. (08/29/2009)

By Reiyichi