
But you can extend the life of a disposal beyond the eight- to 10-year average life expectancy if you’re careful about what foods you put into the disposal. “Turning the water back on would flush the remaining particles away.”īeyond proper usage and occasional cleaning, garbage disposals don’t require much else in terms of maintenance. “The particles settled to the bottom of the trap once we turned the water off,” says Larry Ciufo, garbage disposal project leader at CR. They noticed that during grinding, even tiny ground-up food particles stayed suspended in water flowing through the P-trap, the squiggly part of the drainpipe that prevents sewer gases from creeping back into the house. In the lab, we installed each disposal in a custom rig attached to clear pipes so that our engineers could watch for clogs. All you need to do is to unscrew the unit from its bracket. In our tests, we found that one last flush of water, once the disposal is off, is also a good idea. If theres a problem with your garbage disposal, you will need to remove it from the sink to fix it. These three stages of water flow allow food to thoroughly move through the pipes after it leaves the disposal. Run cold water before you turn on the disposal, while grinding food, and then for about 7 seconds after you hear the grinding stop. “You can't see it but you can probably smell it.” “Oftentimes, odors from the sink actually come from foods that haven’t fully exited the disposal or drainpipes,” says Wiegand. To keep gunk and odors to a minimum, make sure you’re always using the disposal with water-before, during, and after grinding food. Step 3: With the motor still running, flush with cold water for 30 seconds.
#How to remove a garbage disposal youtube how to
Learn how to fix a garbage disposal in just a few quick steps. Step 2: Turn the disposal on without running water until you hear the grinding stop. Garbage disposal repair is much simpler than you think. Step 1: With the disposal and faucet turned off, put six ice cubes in the chamber followed by 1 tablespoon of baking soda, three thin lemon slices, and 1 teaspoon of bleach. If you use your disposal daily, it's a good idea to follow these steps once a week to clean it: “Ice cubes help break up any food stuck to the disposal, while baking soda and bleach kill germs, and lemon provides a bit of freshness,” says Eric Schultz, director of product management at InSinkErator. A few common household ingredients can take care of that. You can scrub it with warm water and baking soda or simply toss it in the top rack of a dishwasher.įood residue can also gum up the walls of the garbage disposal. That's the removable black rubber panel that sits atop your sink's drain hole. Replace the pipes.įor more information, check out the videos below.“Most odors that come out of the garbage disposal are coming from food buildup on the splash guard,” says Alyssa Wiegand, product manager at Moen. Test the garbage disposal once again to make certain it’s functioning properly and to check for leaks. Move the pipes back into place, and tighten the connections until they are snug. Optional: Some may want to completely disconnect the clogged section of piping in order to wash it out in another sink.

Use your hands to remove the clogged material from the pipe. 7: Allow the liquid in the pipe to drain into the bucket. While you may not be completely sure where the clog is, keep in mind that it is most likely to occur in places where the pipes bend or turn. Use your hands or an adjustable wrench to loosen the pipes connected to the garbage disposal at their joints. Lay out towels and a bucket to collect the mess. Have a large bucket on hand to catch the mess.

Prepare your workspace by laying down towels to protect the cabinet. You’ll need to disconnect the pipes in order to remove the clog, which is a messy job. If the disposal is still not working, the clog is likely stuck in the sink piping that connects to the disposal. Use an allen wrench to turn the disposal’s motor. Continue until you can feel that the motor spins free without any resistance. Insert an Allen wrench into the hole, and twist it back and forth. It’s meant to help clear jams from the motor. If the object is too small to be seen or grabbed by tongs, locate the hole on the bottom of your disposal unit, under the sink. 3: Turn the disposal’s motor to clear the jam 2: If you see the clog, use tongs to extract the object Use a flashlight to determine if you can see the clog at the top of the disposal. Once it has been turned off, use a flashlight to determine if you can see the clogged object from above the sink. Make sure to turn off the garbage disposal-by either unplugging it under the sink or shutting off the associated breaker-before starting any maintenance.
