Prioritizing Your Appliances

Why Has Your Garbage Disposal Stopped Working? 3 Reasons Why

Your garbage disposal is a small appliance in your home that helps you when you are clearing out dishes from a meal. The garbage disposal is not a necessary appliance in a home, but it can make things simpler for you and ensure that your food waste is removed from your dishes, without the need to scrape them into a trash bin, which can be a time saver for you. If your garbage disposal has stopped working, there's a chance that it's at the end of its lifetime, or it could be for some other reason. Read on for a few reasons why your disposal has stopped working and what you may be able to do about it. 

1. There Is Food Caught

You could have food caught in the disposal that is causing it to stop running. You need to take a closer look inside the disposal to see if something hard or stringy may be caught inside of it. If you have anything caught in the disposal, you may be able to reach inside to remove it, but you need to turn the power off to the disposal first and be sure there is no energy at all going to the unit. This means that you need to turn it off at the fuse, not just the switch. After you are sure the appliance is completely shut down and doesn't have any power, you can reach inside to remove whatever is clogging the disposal. You should never put anything too hard or stringy into the disposal, which means no corn husks, celery, or bones should ever be put into the disposal.

2. The Blades Are Bad

There could be an issue with your blades being too dull or even broken, which means that they cannot chop food as well as they once did. If the blades are not in good shape, you can replace them with a new blade assembly, which can be found at your local parts appliance store, or you may be able to find what you need online. Shut the power down to the unit, then replace the blade assembly.

3. There Is No Power

If you have no power to the unit at all, the issue could be with the motor. Replacing the motor could be a difficult thing to do on your own and may not be worth the effort. You may be better off replacing the entire unit rather than just the motor. Hire a professional repair person to diagnose this issue and to replace the appliance altogether if necessary, or repair the motor if it can be repaired.

If you have an issue with your garbage disposal and are not comfortable diagnosing the problem or making the necessary repairs, call a professional to do this work for you. They have the tools and know-how to get it done.

Contact a company that offers garbage disposal repair services for more info.


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