Could your disposal be damaged
Garbage Disposals are devices that are installed under our houses’ kitchen’s sink to chop waste food into very small pieces that can be drained down the sewer without clogging it. They are meant to help keep our kitchens and restaurants clean and free from organic residue.
These devices are utilized on a daily routine and when they prove to be malfunctioning, then things can get really messy in our houses. As it is quite obvious with other appliances, regular use can either weaken, damage or rust garbage disposals. Therefore, fixing or repairing them may be required.
How A Garbage Disposal Works
A typical garbage disposal is at all time dumped in a hopper while it is turned off. Once it is turned on, its motor dispenser will activate the flywheel, impeller, and blades to chop or cut the garbage into tiny pieces. The tiny pieces can subsequently penetrate and get flushed down the sewer pipe alongside water from the kitchen sink.
Signs That Your Garbage Disposal Unit is Damaged.
There are various signs that might undoubtedly indicate that your garbage disposal system is malfunctioning or rather, something is wrong with your device.
Garbage disposals have been enhanced over the years and newest models are now performing quieter than ever. However if yours is making a louder noise than normal, especially while grinding, then it is time to take a detailed look at your unit.
The other sign of a garbage disposal malfunction is leaking. Leakage can originate from the several places such as the hose pipe that connects the sink to the disposal, a loosened sink flange, a cracked drain pipe (between the garbage disposal and the sewer), or loosened bolts supporting the sink flange.
Garbage disposal should never produce any sort of odors. If such bad odors are smelt on your garbage disposal, then something might be caught in your disposal unit or somewhere in your drainage pipes.
The other sign is that something could be stuck from inside. If a member of your house has thrown something down your disposal that might block or jam the impeller, this can be very problematic. If this occurs, you should know that you cannot place your fingers inside the garbage disposal as that can be very dangerous.
Finally, a garbage disposal may fail to rotate its motor or grind materials directed at it. This is a serious concern and as such, the owner should consider contacting a plumbing professional to assist them with this task.
How to Fix a Clogged, Damaged or Leaking Garbage Disposal
A good number of reviews will only tell you of the best garbage disposals in the market. However, We will tell you additional information on how you shouldn’t just give up on garbage disposal even after constant leakages or clogging. Hopefully, the information below will be a helpful guideline to assist with your problem.
A common problem that many owners face is a clogged garbage disposal. It can be caused by someone, who always prefers to stay anonymous, dropping an object into the disposal by accident or overloading the unit with food.
In order to unclog your disposal unit, the first step you should take is making sure that the unit is turned off. Next, would be to use a flashlight or a lamp to look down the drain.
Depending on the kind of blockage that you see, you can determine the kind of tool to use to remove the clog. If your disposal is clogged by something different than just food residue, do not run water to unclog it, instead, you may consider using a pair of tongs or pliers.
You may also try to manually turn the blades of the disposal to break up pieces of clogged material. In some cases, the disposal could be clogged even under the sink. In such a case, you might need to manually run the disposal to remove the blocking material.
You should avoid using chemicals to unclog the garbage disposal. Chemicals used to unclog a drain can eat away at the plastic parts of the hose pipes, therefore creating a more serious crisis that the one you are currently dealing with.
Fixing garbage Disposal Leakages
Leakages in the disposal unit usually occur under the sink, at the joint connecting the hopper with the shredder housing and at the connection between the drain pipe and the garbage disposal. It is important that you always check either of these locations first.
If there are no damages, cracks, or rusts on these locations, you should consider checking for other connections within the garbage disposal, for instance, with the dishwasher.
Assess the tightness of the bolts and the screws supporting the flange and the plumber’s putty respectively.
After troubleshooting the problem, proceed to tighten the clamps and bolts supporting the offending joints. If this fails to work on a sink leakage, loosen the clamp, apply plumber’s putty under the flange and screw the bolts back in.
If tightening also fails to eliminate the leakage, then you might think of replacing the old gasket with another one. After doing all these, you can now reassemble everything that makes up the garbage disposal and run it again to reassess its function.
A garbage disposal is a very useful device in your house and its malfunctioning can cause all sorts of problems. Leakages from the garbage disposal can be breeding grounds for germs and bacteria, a scenario that could lead to diseases among inhabitants. Such will also attract pests, cockroaches and molds in the house, resulting in damages of other resources in the house.
If you require additional guidelines concerning how you can fix a clogged, leaking or damaged garbage disposal, you should contact Duane Blanton Plumbing, Sewer & Drainage, Inc., operating in Round Lake, IL and surrounding areas, via the telephone number (847) 855-000.
