Help! First disposal quit working, but no problem with dishwasher.

[Tipperary]

Then last night (not using either), water flooded out all over my kitchen floor.

Suggestions, hints? Reassurance?

[stopbush]

1. Call your local utility to see if they're doing work in the area.

They often force air down pipes which can cause the plumbing in your home to back up.

That said, it sounds like the problem could just be the disposal. Your disposal should have come with a small wrench that you can insert in the bottom to turn the blades inside. If the disposal is getting power but not moving the problem is probably there.

[Tipperary]

10. Yeah, it is getting power, I can hear the hum.

[stopbush]

11. Then it's probably stuck. You need to get it to rotate, which you can do using that tool.

Did a glass get broken and fall in? That often caused problems.

[Tipperary]

14. I don't think so.

Got the sink working again, and for the time being will ignore the disposal.

[DonaldsRump]

2. do you have an air gap?

if so, that might be clogged

[Hoyt]

3. No suggestions, but replacing a disposal is relatively cheap and not too difficult assuming

the pipes aren't clogged or leaking.

I bought a new one for about $70 and replaced it. I'm a hack at such stuff, so it took a couple of hours. A good handyman/woman can probably do it relatively inexpensively.

In a previous house, my disposal would turn on, but it wouldn't clear anything. I unhooked the pipes and cleared out a gross clog with a coat hanger. Worked perfectly until the next clog.


Good luck.

[Tipperary]

7. Thanks!

I rarely use the damn thing, but I’ve had a friend over recently.

[Mersky]

4. There's a way to manually crank the disposal

To clear it, and it may need to be reset. I know if I haven’t run the disposal, the draining of my dishwasher can cause the water to back up into the sink (doesn’t get to the point of overflowing onto the floor, tho).

Here’s a YouTube showing the crank and reset, and clearing clogs:

Good luck!

[Tipperary]

5. Thanks!

Appreciate it!

[Mersky]

8. Yw

If none of that helps, then I suspect there’s a problem further down the line, or maybe the vent stack thing? I hope that it doesn’t come to that.

🤞

[Phoenix61]

6. I hate garbage disposals.

They jam, clog, and take up valuable space under the kitchen sink. Personally, I’d disconnect it and call it a day.

[Tipperary]

9. I have have never been a fan of them either.

That sounds like a good idea, not sure my skills could cope however.

[stopbush]

12. I have a handy man who fixed mine for $20. It had glass jammed in it.

He took the disposal out and cleaned it out.

BTW - replacing a disposal isn’t so easy. First, you need to make sure the replacement you get matches the configuration under the sink. Best if you can replace with the existing model.

[Tipperary]

13. Thanks again!

A friend and I seem to have it sorted, for the time being at least.