Plumber Advice For A Clogged Garbage Disposal

You Might Need Help From A Plumber When The Garbage Disposal Is On The Fritz

The garbage disposal is something that you probably use on a daily basis, even if you are just rinsing out the sink and running it for a short amount of time. It can take a lot of abuse over its years of service and things can happen to clog it up. While you might think you can fix it yourself, it’s a dangerous appliance and you really want a plumber to help you with the repairs.

Common Causes Of Clogged Garbage Disposals

There are plenty of things that you should not do with your garbage disposal. Just because it chops things up doesn’t mean it can handle just about anything and everything you want to shove in there. If you put corn cobs in there, for example, or even corn silk, things can get clogged pretty fast. It’s also never a good idea to stuff things in too quickly. You need to run the water pretty hard in order to completely clear the drain and if you don’t, a backup could occur. If you drop something down the disposal by accident, like jewelry or a utensil, that can cause bad issues as well.

Steps To Take During A Clogged Situation

If a clog occurs, there are a few things you can do in order to prevent more damage from occurring. Take these steps to help yourself out as much as possible.

Step 1: Turn Off Power

The first thing you will want to do when you realize there is a problem is turn off the power switch to the garbage disposal. Those switches are always nearby and you would have had to turn it on in order to run the disposal in the first place so you surely know where it is. You absolutely have to do this first for your own safety. Don’t move forward with anything else until you do.

Step 2: Get A Flashlight

The second thing you might want to do is to get a flashlight so you can see down the disposal. If there’s a large item stuck or jammed, you might be able to see it. If you can see it and the switch is off, get some pliers and reach into the disposal to remove that piece.

Step 3: Allow For Cooling

You don’t want to automatically flip the switch back on to see if it works. Instead, let the garbage disposal motor cool off for 15-20 minutes before you reset it and try again. Then, you’ll know if it’s working again or not.

Step 4: Call A Plumber

If you can’t see the obstruction, you can’t get to it, or the garbage disposal still doesn’t work, that’s probably worst case scenario. At that point, you should call a professional plumber to take over the fixes and repairs for you. When it comes to a device as dangerous as the garbage disposal, you always want to be on the cautious side to ensure safety.