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Is My Garbage Disposal Broken?
You rely on your garbage disposal to dice up bits of food that make it down the sink. Without this feature to keep the drain clear, activity in the kitchen would come to a grinding halt.
You could be experiencing this exact scenario if your garbage disposal has stopped working. Troubleshoot these common problems and call a plumber for garbage disposal repair if you can’t get the unit working again on your own.
The Garbage Disposal Won’t Come On
You flip the switch to clear the drain—and nothing happens. First, look below the sink to double check that the garbage disposal is plugged in. If so, check for any tripped breakers.
As a last ditch effort, hit the reset button on the base of the machine.
The Garbage Disposal Is Jammed
If you flip the garbage disposal switch and hear a buzzing sound but the blades don’t operate, they could be jammed. Insert a 1/4-inch hex wrench into the hole on the bottom of the garbage disposal.
This tool should have come with the unit. Force the wrench back and forth a few times to free up the blades.
If your machine doesn’t have a hex-shaped hole, unplug the disposal and insert a broom handle into the drain.
Move it around to rotate and blades a little and dislodge whatever has jammed them.
The Garbage Disposal Is Leaking
Check for water pooling beneath your kitchen sink. The garbage disposal could be the source of the leak. To fix this problem, turn off the machine and check how tight the bolts are.
If any are loose, tighten them. If all bolts already appear tight but there’s still a leak, cover the bolts with plumber’s putty to seal them from the outside.
The Garbage Disposal Grinds Poorly
First, make sure you run enough water each time you operate the disposal and make sure no foreign objects get into the sink (if any fall in, unplug the unit and retrieve the object with tongs, not your bare hands).
If the disposal still grinds poorly, the blades may be broken. In this case, it’s usually easier and cheaper to get a new garbage disposal
Schedule Garbage Disposal Repair in NJ
At Arctic Air Conditioning, our plumbers can check out the problem with your garbage disposal and recommend a repair or replacement.
To schedule services in Monmouth, Middlesex, Mercer, or Ocean County in Central Jersey, please contact us today!
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