Garbage disposals are meant to do away with food particles by grinding and pulverizing them so that they can easily be washed down the drain. This device is not meant for hard objects such as fruit pits and chicken and meat bones or fibrous materials such as potato or banana peel, broccoli stalks or cornhusks. Unfortunately because of lack of knowledge instead of disposing this trash properly, they get stuffed down the garbage disposal, until the garbage disposal clogs or stops working. You can either call a plumber or try solving the problem yourself.
Unclogging a garbage disposal is not a difficult task if you know what to do and have the right tools to do it. Before you do anything though, make sure that the power is off or the unit is unplugged. You do not want to compound the problem by being electrocuted.
The first thing you need to do is drain the standing water over the garbage disposal so you can check what’s causing the problem. Use a plunger to pump out the water. Sometimes the plunger alone will do the trick of unclogging your garbage disposal especially when all that got stuck is small food debris.
If after the water has drained but the garbage disposal is still clogged and isn’t working then try examining the cylinder with a flash light and with a pair of pliers or tong, dislodge whatever got stuck within the cutting blades manually. Every once and a while turn on the tap and allow the water to flow to wash down the loosened food debris.
If a big, hard or tough object is wedged within the cutting blades of your garbage disposal then you need to un-jam it. Armed with an allen wrench or a hex head wrench, get under the sink and dislodge whatever is causing the garbage disposal to jam. Place the wrench in a hole located at the very center of the unit’s cylinder and turn it clockwise and counterclockwise. If there is something within the cutting blades you will feel some resistance every time you turn the wrench. Continue turning the wrench both ways until you don’t feel any more resistance.
If your garbage disposal is still clogged or doesn’t work after you’ve done all of the above then you need a plumber urgently. Your problem may not only be your garbage disposal, it could be something else and should be looked at immediately.
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