How often do you use your garbage disposal at home? We’re pretty sure that you take advantage of it pretty frequently, say every after meal? Whenever you cook food for the family? It’s okay. After all, the machine really makes our lives a lot easier — err garbage disposal a lot easier. You have to remember though that you can’t use it to grind everything that you like. It is not fit for grinding metal, plastic or anything combustible. It is also not for cigarette butt disposal. When disposing food items, make sure that you won’t grind fibrous veggies and fruits such as celery stalks, onion skins, potato peelings, pasta, rice, large animal bones, coffee grounds and even grease. Most of all, you cannot clean your disposer using harsh chemicals as they may damage the blades as well as the pipes. Now when something goes wrong with the unit and it’s not working as it’s supposed to, here’s a DIY repair guide to help you out!
1. Get the garbage disposal’s manual and read it thoroughly because it will provide you with brand and model-specific ways to repair the machine.
2. There’s supposed to be a hex wrench that came with the package because it’s supposedly used for minor repairs. Before tinkering with the appliance, make sure that it is turned off. Also shut down the circuit breaker to prevent anyone from powering it up accidentally. Remove your drain stopper or cover so you can see inside. Now get a reliable flashlight and take a peek. Take your time and see if you can figure out what clogged it in the first place.
3. Using your hex wrench, rock the disposal sideways, by positioning it just between the impellers. You may also use a wooden spoon to loosen any food scrap that’s caught in the machine. If you see that a hard object is caught in the blades, try to push it down using a hose. If it’s still stuck, pull it out using a pair of tongs, tweezers or small pliers.
4. If this method doesn’t resolve the issue, check under your sink. If you notice that the area is sort of wet, you might have a problem with your hoses or the seals. Or it can also be both. Get a glass and catch some liquid that drips from the system. If it is brown or discolored, there’s probably a leakage from the drain pipe or the dishwasher’s intake. If it is clear, then the leak must come from the sink.
5. Feel around the sink, the pipe and the dishwasher intake. You should be able to distinguish where the leakage is coming from. You should first tighten the bolts that are used to mount the machine which are conveniently found around the seal. Turn the faucet on and observe if that already fixed the problem. Otherwise, you may have to get a new seal.
6. Shut the water supply off. Detach the hose and get rid of the old seal and replace it with a new one. Secure the mounting bolts and test again. Remember that the new seal should match the old one.
We hope that this DIY guide helps you fix garbage disposalsystems with ease. If you DIY skills aren’t sufficient to resolve the problem, just hire the most trustworthy Wellington plumber in Palm Beach FL! Plumbers 911 Florida delivers top-notch plumbing services in Wellington FLincluding plumbing appliance installation, plumbing fixture installation and repair, leak detection, drain pipe cleaning and many more! Call us at 305-662-0668 (Miami-Dade), 954-468-0512 (Broward) or 561-327-6287 (Palm Beach) and we’ll attend to your needs immediately!
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