Unstick a humming garbage disposal in five minutes
A disposal that hums but will not spin is jammed, not dead. You almost never need a new one.
What you need
- 1/4-inch hex wrench (came in the box)
- Flashlight
- Tongs
- 1
Kill the power first
Switch it off at the wall and unplug it under the sink, or flip the breaker. Never reach into a disposal that still has power to it. This is the whole safety lesson.
- 2
Look before you reach
Shine a flashlight down the drain. Nine times out of ten there is a bottle cap, a cherry pit, or a fork wedged against the impeller. Pull it with tongs, never fingers.
- 3
Turn the flywheel by hand
Find the hex socket in the center of the underside of the disposal. Insert the hex wrench and rock it back and forth until it spins a full circle freely.
- 4
Press the reset button
That little red button on the bottom pops out when the motor overheats. Push it back in. If it will not stay in, let the unit cool 10 minutes and try again.
- 5
Restore power and test with cold water
Run cold water first, then flip the switch. Cold keeps grease solid so it grinds instead of coating the pipe. Hot water is how you build a clog for later.
Plumber's tip
Coffee grounds, eggshells, potato peels, and pasta are the four horsemen of a clogged disposal. Compost them instead.
Stop and call us if
It still only hums after freeing the flywheel, it leaks from the body, or the sink backs up into the other basin.
Call Pando Plumbing