How to Free a Jammed Garbage Disposal Unit

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: Hi! I'm Stephanie Glakas-Tenet.

Julie Sussman: And I'm Julie Sussman.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: And we’re the co-authors of the Dare to Repair book series.

Julie Sussman: And we’re here on Howdini to show you how to free a jammed garbage disposal. Oh, that sounds familiar.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: Whatever you do, resist the temptation to grind into oblivion whatever is abstracting your garbage disposal.

Julie Sussman: Right. Instead, what we want you to do is to use tongs or needle-nose pliers.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: And a flashlight. We turn off the electricity here at the switch.

Julie Sussman: And try to free whatever is jammed inside.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: And if you can't, then you have to go to your main service panel and turn off the electricity.

Julie Sussman: Okay. Now, here's the hardest part. It’s getting underneath the sink.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: Literally, this Allen wrench is the key to the solution.

Julie Sussman: Okay, then you're going to take the Allen wrench and insert it into the base. There's a little hole in there and you're going to turn it clockwise and counterclockwise until you can free the object.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: It might be easier to see what we’re doing from this model that’s not installed underneath the sink.

Julie Sussman: Right. Here’s the hole that you're going to put the Allen wrench in. Once it’s in, you're going to turn it clockwise and counterclockwise until you can go around in either direction. That means you’ve dislodged the object.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: And when you have, head back to your electrical service panel. Turn on the electricity.

Julie Sussman: And then come back, hit the reset button.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: Turn on the water. Hit the switch.

Julie Sussman: Music to our ears.

Stephanie Glakas-Tenet: And if you want to keep it music to your ears, make sure you avoid pits, peels, bones and grease down your garbage disposal.