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Troubleshooting Your Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposal quit working? Shut off the switch, look under the disposal, usually a red reset button. If it turns on and only hums,look to see what size Allen wrench you need, and hand turn a couple of times. This will free up whatever was stuck in there!

Source: Family Handyman Magazine

By Everett from Hornell, NY 14843

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By
12/30/2009

Oh and to respond to a archived post, those disposals will chop into a hand. Ours is called a bone crusher, they will chop up soft chicken bones and it will not "know" the difference between your hand and something else. Though I've stuck my hands in there several times, it needs the switch to "spring to life", if it does get turned on while your hand is in there, it can injure it and badly at that, so BE careful!

By
12/30/2009

My husband, Joe the plumber (yep, his name really is Joe and he's a plumber), says never fill with potato peels, pasta or rice, it will gum that thing up like no tomorrow. No wrench or reset button will help it.

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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


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

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