Fruit pits – pits are very hard and can jam the disposal blades.Corn husks – the fibers get caught in the blades.Eggshells – ground egg shells become sand-like particles that stick to grease.Coffee grounds – the oil in coffee grounds becomes a sticky sludge.Celery – the fibrous strings get tangled around the disposal blades.Bones – they’ll just keep spinning around and around with the blades.10 Things You Should Never Put Down Garbage Disposal If you don’t see an obstruction and the disposal will not run, it may require service or replacement. Run water and quickly flip the switch on and off to spin the flywheel, dislodge any obstruction, and rinse it down the drain. Once freed, turn the power back on at the electrical panel and press the reset button before trying the disposal. When it dislodges, you’ll feel the flywheel turn freely. Turn the wrench clockwise to dislodge the stuck impeller or flywheel. If you don’t see a wrench, it’s just a simple Allen wrench and you can pick one up from the hardware store. Just take the offset wrench that came with the disposal and insert it into the flywheel turning hole in the bottom of the unit. You can turn the flywheel from under the disposal as well. Here’s another handy trick to know about your garbage disposal. Learn about the anatomy of a garbage disposal below: The flywheel is stuck because something is lodged between it or the impeller(s) and the shredder ring. Either the reset button will trip or the fuse or circuit breaker in your electrical service panel will trip and turn off the disposal. If the motor hums, but there is no grinding sound, that means the flywheel is stuck. Read on to troubleshoot a garbage disposal jam. If the garbage disposal reset button still will not stay in, or if you have to repeatedly reset the breaker, the disposal may be jammed. Don’t forget to check the electrical panel to see if the breaker needs to be flipped back on. If it has popped out about a quarter of an inch, simply press it back in and try running the disposal. Look for a red button underneath the disposal. The simple fix you probably didn’t know about is the little red reset button on the bottom of your disposal.įirst, make sure the disposal is turned off. It is designed to turn off automatically when the disposal gets clogged, if it overheats, or if there is something wrong with the motor. Your garbage disposal is smarter than you think. Use a wooden spoon or another tool to dislodge anything stuck.

Safety reminder: Never put your hand down into the garbage disposal (grinding chamber). Today, we’re sharing a garbage disposal tip that just may help you out of a jam (literally) and save you a service call. They also know all the tricks of the trade.

At Herrmann Services, our plumbers fix dozens of plumbing problems every day. Every once in a great while, we stumble across a tip that’s just too handy not to pass on.

I will not press the red button