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How To Repair A Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposals are one appliance that definantly simplifies your life. Large horsepower disposals are maintenance free for years and save cleanup time at every meal. As long as you keep hard materials (bone, glass, metal) out of the disposal, it can last for 10 year or more. Garbage disposals use a spinning disk (flywheel) or impeller to grind food into small pieces that are pushed down the drain with force generated by the spinning components. Many garbage disposals have metal cutters on the top of the flywheel. These are loosely attached to the disk (they can spin out of the way) so that they cut up softer materials but bounce off hard materials to avoid jamming. As simple as it is, there are still several things that can go wrong. Here is a solution for each problem.

Warnings

1. NEVER use drain cleaner in a garbage disposal! Drain cleaner like liquid plumber can destroy the metal in the disposal and turn a cheap clog into an expensive repair job. 2. Remove any standing water/waste before attempting any repairs. Keep towel handy for waste that is trapped in the assembly.

Leaking

There are three places where the disposal can leak. Dry off all the pipe and then place wrap a paper tower around the pipes. The leak is at the highest point that shows a wet spot.

The highest leak point is the sink/drain joint. The joint where the drain pipe attaches to the sink uses plumber putty to seal against leaks. To fix this leak, you must remove the garbage disposal and the upper drain pipe to replace the putty.

You may also have a leak where the garbage disposal attached to the ?upper mounting assembly?. First try to tighten the joint with the offset wrench or a screw driver. Turn the mounting ring clockwise to tighten it.

If the leak is after the garbage disposal, tighten the nuts on the P-trap and drain pipes. If this does not stop the leak, replace the washers or replace the pipe assembly. A full set of PVC pipes costs less than 10 dollars.

No Noise / No Motion

There are three possible options. Many garbage disposals have a break (red button) that must be reset if the disposal is overloaded. Find your reset button and press it.

You may also have tripped the circuit. Current code require that garbage disposals be protected by a GFI breaker. Locate your GFI or main breaker in the breaker box and reset it. You can also use a outlet tester to make sure you have power at the plug for the garbage disposal.

The third option is that the motor on the disposal is toast. The motor can be rebuild but it is usally not worth the investment since there are other component in the assembly that wear out. I recommend replacing the disposal with a new 3/4 horsepower unit.

Humming Noise But No Motion

If the garebage disposal hums when you turn it on, then there may be a jam. A hard piece of material like a bone will sometimes becomes lodged in the garbage disposal In this case, you must manual turn the flywheel in the opposite direction (clochwise) to it?s normal operation to free the trapped material. This can be done with the wrench that came with the disposal. Insert the offset wrench or a 1/4 inch allen-head wrench into the hex shaped hole on the bottom side of the garbage disposal. Turn the wrench clockwise until the jam is free. REMOVE THE WRENCH. If you do not remove the wrech, it will fly off when the garbage disposal is started and probably break something. If you do not have a wrench or your garbage disposal does not have a hex hole for un-jamming, your have another option. You can insert a wooden broom handle into the top of the garbage disposal until it is firmly pressing on the flywheel. Rotate the broom handle or stick clockwise until the flywheel start moving. Then remove the hard materials that was jamming the flywheel.

Spinning But Remains Clogged

If the disposal is spinning but not clearing the clog, then there may be a blockage down stream from the garbage disposal. In this case, disassembly the P-trap / drain pipes and remove the obstruciton. If the clog is not in the P-trap use an auger to clear clogs out of the other lines.

If you have a double sink and running the disposal fills up the second sink with water, you have a clog after the T where the two drain pipes connect. Dis-assembly the drain pipes and remove the clog.

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