Garbage disposals are one of the most useful appliances in the kitchen. When not being occasional final destination for wedding bands, they do a great job of ridding your kitchen of excess food and waste.
However, when they stop working, they can bring your entire kitchen to a smell halt. Most repairs will require a technicians, but there are a few simple fixes you can do at home to save yourself some time and money.
A word of warning, to avoid personal injury, shock, or death, you should absolutely always unplug or disconnect any appliance before attempting repairs.
If your garbage disposal is making a high-pitched humming noise, but not actually moving, it’s likely just jammed. Disposals can be quite temperamental, and something as small as an olive pit can get stuck inside. When you hear this noise, turn off the disposal immediately and unplug it from the wall socket. In many cases, the disposal is hardwired, which means you need to turn it off at the breaker. Always remember, never attempt appliance repair with running power.
The typical disposal will have a small port at the bottom. Using a ¼” allen wrench, you can usually just wiggle or turn the disposal back and forth. This will hopefully dislodge the item jammed in the blades. With the power assured to be off, remove any foreign items from inside the disposal, then push the typically red reset button at the bottom of the unit.
If the reset button can’t be identified, feel free to call any of our certified appliance repair professionals at Guinco Service for assistance at 844.3.GUINCO. Before you do, however, and with all hands and tools clear, be sure to turn the power back on or plug the unit back in.
If you’ve taken these steps, yet the disposal fails to turn on, it’s likely that no power is reaching the unit. Because to check for a tripped circuit or blown fuse.
