How to Unclog My Kitchen Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposal clogs occur when material jams the blades and prevents them from turning. Often these clogs cause the garbage disposal to stop running. This is due to a safety mechanism that prevents the garbage disposal motor from burning out if a jam occurs. When the blades stop moving while the disposal is operating, a switch inside the garbage disposal will cut off electrical power to the disposal. You can unclog the kitchen garbage disposal with a broom handle or an Allen wrench and get your disposal working again.

Broom handle
Allen wrench set

Instructions

- 1
  Unplug the garbage disposal power cord from the outlet under the sink. If your garbage disposal is hard-wired to the house electrical system, turn off the circuit breaker in your home panel box.
- 2
  Insert the handle of a broom or a similar wooden handle into the sink drain and into the garbage disposal. Try to move the blades inside the disposal with the broom handle.
- 3
  Locate the Allen key socket on the bottom of the garbage disposal if you cannot get the blades to turn with the broom handle. Insert the Allen key that came with the disposal into the socket. Use an appropriate size Allen wrench if you cannot locate the original key.
- 4
  Turn the socket left to right to move the garbage disposal blades. The socket connects directly to the blade shaft, and the turning of the blades removes the clog and frees the blades.
- 5
  Turn on the circuit breaker or plug the power cord back into the wall socket. Press the red reset button on the bottom of the disposal. Turn on the cold water tap and turn on the disposal.

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