Even the Best Garbage Disposal Clogs Up Sometimes – What Do You Do?

Garbage disposals are a lifesaver. It gets rid of your whole household’s unwanted leftovers, peels, and stale or expired food. It’s one of those things that you just know would be there, one that you expect to work. Most of the time we take them for granted. That is, until it tries to win back our attention by getting clogged or worse, refusing to work!

Before this happens and causes a disaster, it is just more logical to make sure your garbage disposal is in tiptop shape, all the time. Here are some tips to help you keep them so:

• Run the garbage disposal regularly, even if there’s nothing to grind. Just turn on your water and run the garbage disposal to keep the parts moving. If you forget to do this, your disposal could freeze, rust, or even corrode. Another possibility is that those leftover debris inside can harden. This will result to foul odours and clogs, too.

• Let your disposal run longer even after it has finished grinding up garbage. Just keep the water and the disposal running for about a minute or two after it does its job to ensure everything has been flushed out to prevent any clogs in the future. It will also be beneficial if you just run cold water with a bit of dish soap down the drain to help clean it out thoroughly and remove any stink.

• Make sure you use cold water, not hot, when you use your garbage disposal. It is true that hot water is great for cleaning and disinfecting most things. Unfortunately it does not work as well with garbage disposals. Why? It melts food that is supposed to be ground, making waste cling to the sides. In contrast, cold water hardens food and makes them easier to grind up and be pushed out.

• Cut up waste into smaller pieces. Yes we hear your sighs. But it’s only logical to do so. Your garbage disposal has limitations and its motor and blades could only grind so much. Do not expect for it to work like a monster that would just gulp down large chunks and not be bothered at all. Go easy on it a bit by cutting your waste into ‘bite size’ pieces. That is, if you want to keep your garbage disposal longer and do not want to deal with a jammed or clogged disposal sooner or later.

• Do not put grease or oil, potato peels, big bones, glass, metal, plastic, or paper , and expandable foods. These things can easily clog your garbage disposal.

How Garbage Disposals Benefit the Environment

One thing that is clear: tossing your leftovers in the garbage disposal is better than tossing it in the trash.

There’s no denying that disposals help reduce the amount of trash that winds up in landfills. Instead of being tossed in the trash, the humble garbage disposal grinds up the food into tiny bits that can be sent down the drain to be treated at a wastewater facility. In an instant, disposals remove food waste and keep smells from hanging around the house until garbage day.

Of course, to be effective, the disposal must be used properly. Unless you want to call Roto-Rooter every other month to fix your disposal, you need to ensure that you only put appropriate food items down the disposal. Fibrous foods, fruit pits, potato peels, grease and bones should never be put down the disposal.

Garbage disposals are the next best thing when you don’t have a way to compost your waste. The appliance helps reduce waste in landfills, but there are concerns.

Will A Garbage Disposal Clog My Pipes?

NO. A garbage disposal which is used properly will not clog your pipes. However, the key to making sure that your garbage disposal doesn’t clog your pipes requires proper installation and then usage that is compliant with your particular model. Before you install any kind of garbage disposal, you have to make sure that the drainage pipes are clear in the first place.

This is why a garbage disposal should always be installed by a professional plumber. They can check for preexisting clogs and also clear them out. Remember, a garbage disposal is supposed to be a convenience, not a nuisance. There is nothing like installing a new garbage disposal and then have it clog your pipes simply because you did not check the pipes first.

The next part of using a garbage disposal and making sure that it won’t clog your pipes is that you need to only put food particles down the drain that you feel will wash away down a sewage system. Even the most powerful garbage disposer is only capable of so much. So if you have a household garbage disposer, you need to treat it with some respect. You have to remember that anything you put down your garbage disposal will travel though your drainage pipes and ultimately need to clear them. This is why it is so important to only put food particles that can be liquefied into your garbage disposal so that any food waste that you have will reach its final destination.

Clogged pipes from a garbage disposal are totally avoidable if you follow a few simple rules. If you buy a home, make sure the pipes are unclogged from the previous owner. Make sure that you also buy a garbage disposal that is the right horse power for your situation, and then use it properly.

Garbage Disposal Use and Maintenance:

Garbage disposals should not be the place where you dump grease. This is not the place to dump your excess fat or grease from frying meat.  These items have a tendency to plug up the drain line and are sure to cause problems with the disposal. Simply collect the grease in a bowl or Ziploc baggie and dispose of it elsewhere.

Run plenty of COLD water while you are using the disposal to eliminate food wastes. If you are using it to eliminate 1 pound or more of food waste, you must plug the drain first. Fill the sink with 1/4 of the way full with cold water. Pull the drain plug out and turn the disposal on. This should thoroughly wash the drain line free of any garbage that might cause a problem. Be sure to avoid using hot water on a regular basis, because this could cause unwanted problems.

Troubleshooting Garbage Disposal Problems

Garbage Disposal Not Working, No Noise

If the garbage disposal doesn’t do anything—meaning it doesn’t hum or make a sound—it probably isn’t receiving power.

Look for a garbage disposal reset button on the underside of the disposal and press this reset button. This simple touch may be all that’s needed to get it running again.

If that doesn’t do the trick, determine whether your disposal is plugged into an electrical receptacle under the sink or hard-wired (directly connected) to an electrical box there.

If your disposal is the plug-in type, unplug the disposal from its electrical outlet and test the outlet with another appliance, such as a hair dryer. If the outlet doesn’t work with another device, go to the circuit breaker panel and reset the circuit breaker that serves the disposal. This breaker is often on the same circuit used by the dishwasher. Reset it by turning it all of the way off and then back on.

If your disposal is hardwired to an electrical box, go straight to the circuit breaker panel and reset the breaker the same way.

Garbage Disposal Hums or Is Jammed

You’ll know your disposal is jammed or clogged when the motor hums but the disposal doesn’t grind, is overly noisy, or runs and then stops before you turn it off.  Don’t continue to run the disposal when it’s jammed—this can burn out the motor.

Even when jammed, a disposal will usually drain.

The jam is often caused by a piece of bone, a fruit pit, or something similar stuck between an impeller blade and the drain hole.

Be sure to unplug the disposal or turn off the electrical circuit that powers it before making any repairs.

If the motor has burned out, you’ll need to replace the disposal. Amazon has some great deals on garbage disposals. Also please see the HomeTips Garbage Disposals Buying Guide for useful buying tips and advice.

To clear a jammed disposal:

1 Unplug the unit or turn off the circuit breaker that serves it.

2 Under the sink, look at the bottom of the disposal for a hex-shaped hole. If you see one, find a 1/4-inch hex wrench that fits the hole (often there is one attached to the disposal).

Fit the hex wrench into the hole, and force it back and forth a few times to free the impellers. (Note: Some models have a reversing switch that accomplishes the same action.)

3 If your disposal doesn’t have a hex hole or you can’t find a hex wrench, put a short broom stick into the disposal (with the with the power disconnected!), force it down against one of the blades, and try to rotate the impeller back and forth.

4 If something has been put in the disposal that shouldn’t have—such as metal, rubber, glass, or fibrous food waste such as artichoke leaves or banana peels—use tongs or pliers to pull the material out. Never use your hand.

5 You may have to remove the disposal to clear a jam. In some situations, this is easier to do than it might sound.