Our garbage stopped working a few days ago. I was feeling a little adventurous as I had fixed our stopped up bathtub a few weeks ago, alhamdulillah, so I decided to research how to fix a jammed garbage disposal.
The first video I came across was quick and easy to watch so after viewing it, I decided to give the advice a try (see video below).
Alhamdulillah, it worked! What a sense of accomplishment! (Especially since I am 2-0 in the repair department thus far.)
The advice in the video applies to the situation where you turn on the disposal and it makes a humming sound, but won't work. I learned it is probably a stuck flywheel. So here's what you do:
- Push the reset button on the bottom of the unit (picture). Turn on the disposal. If that doesn't solve the problem:
- Before starting this next step, unplug the unit from the wall. In this step, you use an Allen wrench and give it a turn under the disposal in the Flywheel Turning Wrench Hole (picture). Well, as soon as I did that, bubbles started forming in the sink so I suspected that it had worked.
- The final step is to put a broom handle in the unit and try to dislodge whatever has gotten stuck.
- Test the repair by plugging the unit back in and turning it on.
How to Fix a Jammed Garbage Disposal -- powered by ehow
I try to include my kids as much as I can (mostly for support/help, lol, but also because I don't want them to feel helpless about making simple repairs around the house). It seems like a good idea to have little exploration sessions from time to time on basic machines and things around the house, how to care for them, install them, and repair them.
Are you handy around the house?
What types of repairs have you made yourself after watching a video?
