What it Means if Your Garbage Disposal is Humming
The disposal blades are clogged or jammed. Humming is the most common sign of a jammed garbage disposal. Your disposal uses impeller arms attached to a flywheel and a shredder ring—when hard objects get caught in the impeller or between the flywheel and the shredder ring, it can cause your disposal to become jammed. The fix: Unjam your garbage disposal using the steps in the next section. If your disposal still doesn’t work, follow the steps in the section after that to reset it.
The disposal needs to be reset. If your disposal is overloaded or overheated, or if you’ve unclogged the disposal and it still isn’t working, its electrical components probably need to be reset. If you have to repeatedly reset the garbage disposal to get it to work, it’s best to call a professional to service or replace it. The fix: Press the red button on the bottom of your disposal, then turn on the water and the disposal. If it still doesn’t work, you may have to call a professional to replace it.
The breaker to the disposal has tripped. If your garbage disposal is connected to the same circuit as something else that’s operating (such as a dishwasher or toaster), it can cause your breaker to trip and shut off the power to the blades. Some residual power may still run to disposal, causing the machine to hum. The fix: Find the circuit that turned off in your breaker box and flip it back to the same position as the others. Try to turn on the disposal when no other appliance is running, or hire an electrician to run additional circuits to your outlets to prevent overloading your breakers again.
The disposal has overheated or overloaded. If your disposal is used constantly or if a clog prevents it from running smoothly, it can cause the motor to become overheated. When that happens, the reset button on the bottom of the motor stops the flow of electricity to the motor as a safety measure. The fix: Press the red button on the bottom of the disposal, then run the water and turn on the disposal to see if it works.
The motor is broken. If there isn’t anything caught in the disposal blades (or you unclogged it yourself) and you pressed the reset button on the bottom of the machine and it still doesn’t work, Pischer says “The motor has just gone bad and you need to replace it.” The fix: Although you may be able to replace the motor inside the disposal yourself, it may be best to call a pro to handle the job for you.
Unjamming a Garbage Disposal
Grab any obstructions sticking out of the disposal with tongs or pliers. Unplug your garbage disposal or flip the breaker (or both) to ensure there’s no power going to the machine. Use a flashlight to see if there are any large objects caught in the blades. If you see the issue immediately, use a pair of pliers or tongs to remove the obstruction. Try to avoid using your hands, even if the disposal is turned off. The blades inside are very sharp and could injure you.
Fit a hex key in the hole at the bottom of the disposal and twist it. On the bottom of the outside of the disposal near the center is a small hole for a ⁄4 in (0.64 cm) hex-head wrench. Home improvement specialist Jacob Pischer says to put the correct hex key in the hole and “turn that both clockwise and counterclockwise to break up and loosen whatever happens to be in there.” The Allen wrench or hex key will rotate the flywheel and impeller inside the disposal, freeing the object from the blades. Some garbage disposals come with an Allen wrench, which may also be called a “food waste disposal” wrench.
Rotate a special wrench inside the disposal if it’s still clogged. If your garbage disposal is still jammed, insert a special garbage disposal unjamming wrench into the machine from the top. Once you hit the bottom, gently rotate the wrench until the jaws lock in place. Forcefully turn the wrench counterclockwise and then clockwise until the jam is cleared.
If necessary, use a broom handle to dislodge the object. If the object isn’t dislodged with the Allen key or special wrench, use a wooden spoon or broom handle to gently push it off the blades. Use the wooden tool to rock the impeller blades at the bottom of the disposal back and forth. Then, use a pair of pliers or tongs to remove the object. Make sure there’s no power going to the disposal before attempting to unclog it. Ask another person to hold a flashlight for you so you can see if you’re effectively pushing the object off the blades.
Press the button on the bottom of the disposal when the clog is gone. Connect the garbage disposal to power, but make sure it’s not running. Press the red button and make sure that it stays pressed. If it doesn’t, wait 10 to 15 minutes for the motor to cool down, then try again. Run the water and turn on the disposer to see if it works. This reset button works like a circuit breaker in your home’s electrical panel, protecting the motor if it gets overheated (by a clog or by constant use) or overloaded.
Safely Using, Maintaining, & Cleaning a Garbage Disposal
Try to avoid putting starchy, fibrous, or sticky items down the drain. In general, try to avoid putting anything down the disposal that might gum up the machine or get caught in the blades. Instead, use the disposal to break down ice cubes and soft, cut-up foods only. Here are items to avoid putting down the disposal: Fat, grease, or oil Pasta, rice, or oats Bones and seafood shells Potatoes, potato peels, chicken skin, and sauerkraut Broken glass, metal, plastic, or paper scraps Hard fruit pits or nut shells Fibrous veggies (like celery, rhubarb, kale, onion skins, or asparagus) Medications Coffee grounds
Run your disposal every few days, even when you aren’t using it. Even if you don’t have anything to grind up, running your disposal every couple of days can help keep the blades clean and free of old food that might be stuck to them. It can also help keep the blades from rusting from lack of use. Additionally, try not to keep any objects inside of your disposal. Run it as soon as you place any food items down the machine.
Turn on your sink’s cold water tap while running the disposal. Running the water while grinding up your table scraps can help move the particles through the P-trap, or the U-shaped pipe underneath your sink. Over time, this practice can help prevent clogs in your drain. For best results, run the water before turning on the disposal, while it’s grinding up food, and about 7 seconds after you turn it off and hear the grinding stop. Try not to use hot water on the disposal side of your sink. Hot water can melt fats and starches in the disposal, which makes them harder to grind and can lead to clogs.
Try to avoid using bleach or drain cleaners to unclog the disposal. Although drain cleaners and other chemicals may seem like a quick and easy way to fix a disposal clog, they can be a huge hazard for homeowners. When you turn on the disposal after, it can cause the cleaner to fly up and possibly splash anyone nearby. This can be especially dangerous if you’re right above the disposal while running it. The cleaners may fly into your eyes, causing injury.
Clean the disposal with baking soda, vinegar, ice, and salt. To remove grease and grime from your disposal, pour in ½ cup (136 g) of baking soda and let it sit for 1 hour. Pour in 1 c (240 mL) of vinegar, then rinse the disposal with hot water. Add 2 cups (2 g) of ice and 1 cup (300 g) of salt, then run the cold water and turn on the disposal. Try to clean your disposal using this method once every 2 weeks. Grind up 1 whole lemon peel with cold running water to remove odors from your garbage disposal. Alternatively, put 6 ice cubes in the disposal along with 1 tbsp (17 g) of baking soda, 3 lemon slices, 1 tsp (4.9 mL) of bleach, and 6 more ice cubes. Run cold water and turn on the disposal.
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