There’s no doubt that having a garbage disposal in your kitchen can make cleanup a breeze. However, just like any other appliance in your home, your garbage disposal can malfunction from time to time. If you notice that your garbage disposal isn’t spinning, we’ll provide you with some helpful troubleshooting tips below.
A Note About Safety
Before we dive into the causes and troubleshooting tips, it’s first necessary to talk about safety when it comes to your garbage disposal. You never want to put your hand down inside your garbage disposal, even if the unit is turned off. It’s completely possible for the blades to shift suddenly, causing major damage to your hand. Our professionals utilize specific tools to access the internal components of your garbage disposal to protect their well-being.
It’s best practice to not just shut your garbage disposal off but completely unplug it. This means opening your sink and pulling the plug out that’s in an outlet near your unit. If your garbage disposal is hardwired to your home’s electrical system, then you need to shut off its circuit breaker. This will eliminate the risk of electrical shock while you’re trying to troubleshoot your malfunctioning disposal.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you don’t want to excessively jerk the garbage disposal using a hex key. This could actually damage the internal components, including the motor. In addition, avoid pushing the reset button multiple times. If it doesn’t work after one or two tries, then there’s something more in-depth wrong with your unit that requires professional assistance. If you try to consistently reset your garbage disposal, you can unintentionally overheat its motor and burn it up.
Reasons Your Garbage Disposal Won’t Spin
There are several different reasons that your garbage disposal may not spin for you. Some of these may be minor issues that you can fix on your own, while others may require professional assistance for a permanent fix. Probably the most common cause of a garbage disposal that won’t spin is a jammed flywheel. This is a small metal plate that rotates to grind the food scraps. If something gets stuck in the flywheel, it can seize up.
Some of the most common culprits to get stuck in there include fruit pits, fibrous material, bone, and twist ties. When you have something jammed in the flywheel, you’ll hear a humming noise when you turn on your garbage disposal. If you try to run it for too long, the unit may trip its reset button as a safety mechanism due to overload.
You can try to repair this issue by using a disposal wrench or an Allen key appropriately sized for your garbage disposal. This key will allow you to manually rotate the flywheel from underneath the sink. You’ll notice that there’s a small hex slot right at the bottom of your garbage disposal where you can insert the disposal wrench or Allen key.
Make sure that you unplug the garbage disposal or turn off the circuit breaker before doing this. You want to insert the wrench into the hex slot and turn it back and forth slowly. This should help free up the jam inside your flywheel so that it can move freely. If you feel it moving back and forth, it’s best to remove the key and test run your unit to see if it’s working correctly. If it doesn’t work, it’s time to call in one of our professionals for further assistance.
Overloaded Unit
All garbage disposals have a built-in safety feature that shuts off power to the motor whenever it senses there’s an overload or overheating of the unit. This helps prevent the motor from burning up and damaging more components inside. When you turn on your garbage disposal, you won’t hear any sound at all if it has been overloaded. You can further verify this issue by looking for the red reset button at the bottom of the unit. It’ll pop out if it’s overloaded.
It’s usually a good idea to let your garbage disposal cool down for around 10 to 15 minutes. Go ahead and press the reset button once to see if it stays in. If it does, try running your garbage disposal and see if it works. If you notice the reset button trips again, there’s a deeper electrical or mechanical issue that requires our professional assistance. Avoid resetting the unit more than once.
Electrical Malfunction
One culprit that may be at the root of why your garbage disposal won’t spin is an electrical issue. If the garbage disposal isn’t getting power, it can’t do its job. This could be from something simple like a tripped circuit breaker that simply needs to be reset. Or, you may have a malfunctioning wall outlet.
You can try plugging something else into the outlet to see if it works. If it doesn’t, it’s likely your wall outlet needs to be replaced. If you suspect that the issue lies with wiring, a faulty motor, or a dead wall switch, it’s best to have one of our professionals handle the issue.
Broken Impellers or Internal Components
One of the more severe reasons that your garbage disposal may not be spinning is because there’s a broken impeller or other internal component inside of it that’s jamming the flywheel. This can cause your unit to seize up, and it may vibrate violently. You may also hear grinding or rattling noises coming from your garbage disposal. It’s important to shut your appliance off and contact us immediately for repair service.
Things to Avoid Putting Down Your Garbage Disposal
While garbage disposals can certainly be helpful for any homeowner, they’re only as good as you use them. If you use your garbage disposal inappropriately by putting bad items down it, it’s likely to malfunction. There are numerous things that you want to avoid putting down your garbage disposal, as they’ll likely cause an issue.
One of the most common is fibrous or stringy foods. These include things like corn husks, onion skins, and even celery, as they all can jam the blades. Avoid putting any sort of grease, fat, or oil down your garbage disposal. All of these substances will harden and coat the inside of the disposal and your drain pipe.
Omit putting coffee grounds down your garbage disposal, as they can compact and form a sludge-like material. Eggshell membranes are also a no-no, as they can wrap around the garbage disposal blades and cause it to jam. Bones and hard fruit pits can easily break the blades. Pasta, rice, and oatmeal all expand in water and can form a glue-like substance in your garbage disposal.
Expert Garbage Disposal Repair Service
Fox Heating, Cooling & Plumbing offers expert garbage disposal repair services for the Wheat Ridge, CO community. We can also assist with all your garbage disposal maintenance, replacement, and “>plumbing repair needs. Simply call our office today to book your next appointment with one of our friendly professionals.
