Of all the things that you don’t want to malfunction, it’s your garbage disposal. It’s the equivalent of a toilet not flushing waste properly. You really wouldn’t want your garbage disposal to malfunction because the results are simply unsanitary. A garbage disposal unit that churns out garbage and spits them right back out is a sign of mechanical problems.
A jammed garbage disposal can also be such a headache. Why is your garbage disposal not working, you might ask?
The moment you turn on the garbage disposal and all you hear is a loud humming sound followed by silence (which could be caused by the disposal’s circuit breaker), you could be looking at a jam. A stuck flywheel is the biggest cause for jams and is usually a result of overloading the disposal or placing objects that are not meant to be there (there’s a manual that shows you what to put and what not to put into your garbage disposal).
Grind rings can get jammed too and they need to be loosened using a special hex wrench. Chances are, you don’t have this kind of wrench. And this kind of jam doesn’t cause a humming sound or a power outage. A jammed grind ring will make you think that the disposal is running normally, but in reality, it’s not doing its job.
A build-up of gunk on the impeller blades can also cause the disposal unit to jam. Frequent usage without proper cleaning can lead to food debris sticking to the blades and other moving parts of the garbage disposal unit. This is why it’s important to clean your garbage disposal unit after every usage.
An overheated motor will stop a garbage disposal unit anytime. The motor can overheat due to usage for a prolonged period of time or when it’s handling a larger-than-normal load. If you suspect that your garbage disposal unit is overheated, check the bottom of the unit if it’s warm or hot to the touch. If it is, turn off the disposal and let it cool for a few minutes before turning it back on.
