Is Your Food Waste Garbage Disposal Not Working?

Is Your Food Waste Garbage Disposal Not Working? Here are Some Solutions

The kitchen garbage disposal system is vital to the current waste management infrastructure. It safely and effectively disposes of solid waste, such as food waste, helping keep your environment clean and safe. Many homes benefit from this technology because it handles food waste efficiently. However, like any other machine, it can also give up or face some performance issues. But most of them tend to be manageable with little experience. Here is some insight into this.

It hums but doesn’t grind!

You wanted to grind up kitchen food waste in your garbage disposal system but cannot do this. You turned on the device and heard the machine humming. However, it refuses to grind. This problem can occur due to a jammed flywheel inside it. When this happens, the reset button usually pops out, or the fuse goes off. You cannot allow this problem to linger because the appliance’s motor can be at risk. Hence, it is better to look for the underlying cause of this trouble. In most cases, the main culprit is the foreign object or particle stuck in the shredder ring and the impeller. You can tackle this issue at your end.

Stop the power supply to the garbage disposal and flip the disposal’s wall switch off. Search for an offset wrench or hex so that you can open the flywheel or impeller. Once done, you can examine the disposal for any stuck pieces of meat bones, dinnerware, etc. Pliers can help remove them from their surface if there is something. After cleaning, you can switch the main electric service panel on without running the device. You need to push the reset button first and briefly let some sink water run into the machine as you quickly switch on and off it. Repeat the process of flipping the switch. It can move the flywheel and help the dislodged material drain away smoothly. 

It leaks!

Common areas where you can spot this issue include discharge drainpipe, sink flange, and dishwasher connection. There are ways to tackle them each. For example, the discharge drainpipe helps flow down wastewater between the sink drain trap and the food grinding machine. A leakage issue can start if the connection between them becomes loose due to the old gasket. You can fix this by investigating the connecting bolts and tightening them. If the problem persists, you may want to change the gasket seal and work on the bolts. 

However, if you encounter a leakage problem at the dishwasher connection or the rubber hose that connects the two devices, you would want to tie the loose end at the hose clamp that goes to the dishwasher inlet. Sometimes, it can be necessary to change the hose to avoid the leakage issue. What do you do if you see water leaking at the sink flange? Again, this is a common area – the garbage disposal machine vibrates when switched on, which can affect the apparatus that connects the disposal to the drain opening of the sink. 

You can take some steps to troubleshoot the problem. Make sure you power off the main electrical panel and dislodge the food grinding machine from the mounting flange. Look for the bolts that attach the flange to the sink because you have to tighten them. You can examine the plumber’s putty if you don’t see any other problem. If it looks broken or damaged, add a new bead of this material between the sink and the flange and put things together. Remove the overflowing putty from the sides and place your disposal back in its place. Switch on the service panel and run the device. It should take care of your concern.

No humming, no motor running!

When the appliance refuses to start up and the motor doesn’t hum, you can suspect the electrical problem to be the main culprit. You may have to do a mix of easy and complicated jobs to fix the problem. So, it can be wise to take up the easy challenges first. For example, ensure that you have plugged in the device. While it may sound silly initially, the customer support teams inform that this is one of the top reasons in this case. Anyway, if you checked it already and still the machine is not functioning, you can look at the reset button and press it down if it has popped. 

After this, you can examine the service panel for tripping issues. In this case, you may have to pull the circuit breaker lever. Do you have any experience in handling electrical connections? If yes, use a voltage tester to check the power supply status. If hardwiring is involved, you have to reach wires to test the power. Sometimes, the cause of the garbage disposal not operating can be the faulty wiring of the switch or the appliance itself. So, check the switch (under the sink or on the wall) connected to the unit. Disconnect the circuit breaker from the disposal circuit. You will also have to remove the disposal unit’s switch. 

Look at the wiring because loose wires can also be a troublemaker. If things are right at this end, you can decide to change the old switch. Power on the service panel and operate the device. You may have to buy another device if the machine still doesn’t move and the motor doesn’t produce sound. Don’t worry about finding the next good thing because you get many options nowadays. If you want a better experience, try the continuous feed model.

A garbage disposal system requires good practices and care to avoid the issue of clogging or slow draining. For instance, if you add potato skin to the grinder, the starchy substance from the vegetable can block your drain. Likewise, granular pieces of egg shells and grounded coffee can cling to the pipe walls and clog the system. So, keep things in mind that can pose trouble and save your machine. Also, maintain it well to avoid odor and any other operations difficulty. A well-maintained device can run for many years, making your food waste handling job convenient.