How Do You Safely Unclog a Garbage Disposal?
A garbage disposal is a very important item in the kitchen sink as it grinds the unwanted items in the sink, but cleaning clogged garbage disposal is a very hard and unsafe job. A garbage disposal can get clogged because of excessive grease or food getting stuck in the blades. Either way, it is unsafe to unclog it right away without any research.
To keep your garbage disposal running, you need to hire a professional who can help you unclog it safely. Let us provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to do it.
How Your Garbage Disposal Works
A garbage disposal machine is a simple machine that helps you with food waste disposal from your sink. Here are a few steps on how your garbage disposal works.
Key Parts of a Garbage Disposal
Here are the main parts of a garbage disposal:
- Motor: This gives power to the blade so that it can grind the waste
- Grinding Chamber: Food waste gets reduced into fine particles here.
- Drain: Ground food particles and water get sent to your drainage pipe from here.
- Blades/Impellers: Blades turn your food into small particles.
- Reset Button: This is used to reset the motor after the food gets jammed or the motor overheats.
Each part of a garbage disposal plays an important role in properly grinding down the scrap, if any of these parts stop working, it can lead to a clog.
Common Ways Clogs Happen
Garbage disposals are very rugged, but unlike any other machine, they do face problems, because some things just don’t belong in there. Here are some common reasons behind the clogs:
- Grease or oil: Grease hardens and becomes solid, taking up space.
- Large or hard items: Hard items like bones, pits, or shells can stop the blades from spinning.
- Fibrous foods: Food items like celery, onion skins, and corn husks can jam up the disposal.
- Too much food at once: Overloading the disposal can stop it from running and can even overheat the motor.
To keep your garbage disposal in shape, try to avoid putting such items inside the garbage disposal.
How to Safely Unclog Your Disposal
Before you start, remember safety is your only priority. Try unclogging the disposal with proper gear and extra care. Here are some tips on how you can unclog your garbage disposal.
Turn Off the Power to Your Garbage Disposal
This is the first and the most important step while trying to unclog garbage disposal
- Flip the switch to OFF that turns on the garbage disposal.
- For extra care, disconnect the plug or try switching off the main power switch in your house.
Gather and Use Your Tools
To unclog your disposal, you do not need any fancy tools, the tools at your home or inside your toolbox are more than enough for you to safely unclog it.
- Flashlight
- Pliers or Tongs
- A plunger
- An Allen wrench
With these simple available at-home tools, you will be able to unclog your drain safely without any use of professional help.
How to Unclog Your Garbage Disposal
After following all the steps above, you need to get prepared and follow these steps to fix a clogged drain.
Check for Blockage
Start by using your flashlight so that you can look inside the disposal and assess the cause of the clogged drain. If you see scraps, bones, utensils or other items, use kitchen tongs or pliers to remove them. Remember to never use your hand to remove anything from the disposal, as it can get very dangerous even if the power is off.
Use A Plunger
If the clog is deep inside the drain, a plunger or anything that creates suction can help.
- Firstly, fill the sink with enough water so that it can go over the covering of the plunger.
- Place the plunger over the drain with enough force to create a suction.
- Hold your plunger from the handle and pull it up and down 10-15 times to break the suction.
This will help you clear the blockage, and if not, we have more steps that can help you clean a clogged Garbage Disposal.
Manual Reset and Allen Wrench
Most of the disposals have a manual reset button that is used to reset the motor. Press this button to reset this motor, and if the blades are still stuck, use an Allen wrench to manually rotate the blades and remove the clogged items from the drain.
- Insert the wrench into the hex-shaped hole under the unit.
- Turn the wrench back and forth to rotate the blades
- Once the blades are rotating, test the disposal by turning the power back on.
If this method works, your garbage disposal will return back to normal and will be working perfectly fine without any blockage.
When to Call a Professional
Sometimes, manually unclogging a drain does not work, so you need to call a professional to get your drain up and running.
Signs that there are Bigger Problems
Garbage disposals are very rugged, but unlike any other machine, they do face problems, because some things just don’t belong in there. Here are some common reasons behind the clogs:
- Strange Noises: If your drain is making grinding noises or if your motor makes weird noises while powering up, it could mean that the problem is bigger than a clog.
- Water leaks: If water is leaking constantly from your disposal or the drainage pipes, the disposal might need a proper repair.
- Persistent Clogs: If your disposal gets clogged often, it may be a sign that it needs to get replaced and you need to get a new disposal fitted into your sink.
An experienced professional will be able to solve all of these problems above or anything else related to plumbing.
Final Words
Unclogging garbage disposal may sound a bit intimidating and hard, but it is easy you follow the correct steps with the correct tools so that it gets easy for you to properly clean it. But, even after following these steps, if you are unable to clean the disposal, do not hesitate to call for professional help.
Getting it checked regularly will help you increase the life of your garbage disposal while keeping it functioning correctly. Regular maintenance from an HVAC company in Sacramento will help you prevent such situations and keep your kitchen and your hands clean.
Schedule your Appointment Today!
Still facing issues because of your clogged garbage disposal? Contact Ace Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning today to unclog your garbage disposal! We are here to help you with the best Plumbing solutions in Sacramento!