Garbage disposals are now found in almost every home or apartment in America. It is a great and easy way for people to simply scrape off their excess food down the drain and it disappears in the matter of minutes if not less. The only problem is that sometimes garbage disposals do break. When your garbage disposal breaks you will most likely freak out because you no longer know what to do with all of the excess food. Depending on how bad the damage is, you may need to hire a professional Pittsburgh plumber and utilize their plumbing services. In other cases though, you may be able to fix the problem yourself. Here are six easy steps you should follow for fixing garbage disposals.
1. Don't Put Your Hand down the Drain
There is no reason to injure yourself when you are simply trying to figure out what is wrong with your garbage disposal. Inside of your garbage disposal there is a blade which will cut you if you come in contact with it. Before you stick your hand down the drain you will want to disconnect the motor. Of course, as you start to fix things you will need to plug it back in to run numerous tests, but make sure that nothing is down the drain, especially your hand, when you do this.
2. Tighten Connections and Seal
You should turn your water on and see if there are any leaks in the garbage disposal. If you do find a leak you will want to tighten the connection at that point. You may also need to take some parts apart on the garbage disposal. You can then replace certain pieces if necessary.
3. Check the Breakers
Seeing as the garbage disposal is an electrical device, sometimes for no apparent reason the circuit breaker can trip. If you think this is the problem than simply go to your electrical box and see if it is switched off. If so, simply switch it back on and then reset the garbage disposal. If you do not hear the humming from the disposal then there may be a problem with the actual garbage disposal switch or the entire unit.
4. Free the Flywheel
The flywheel of the garbage disposal is the actual part that spins the impeller which in turn cuts up your waste. This piece can get stuck due to many different things. To get it unstuck you will need to use a hex wrench. You simply put it into the hex hole under the unit and twist it back and forth which will loosen the flywheel.
5. Sharpen Impellers
Sometimes the impellers, which are the part that cuts up your food, may not be sharp anymore and have become quite dull. If this is the case then you will need to remove the flywheel and take the impellers out to sharpen them. Depending on the type of garbage disposal you have you may be able to sharpen them without removing it.
6. Remove Clogs
You will need to remove the bolts on the drain pipes to do this. Once you have done this, check the pipes for any clogs. If you see anything then remove it. You may also want to look inside the drain while it is unplugged to make sure there is nothing stuck in the actual drain.
A professional residential plumber can advise and help you if you require more assistance.
