What Should Never Go Down a Garbage Disposal in NJ?

Potato peels, coffee grounds and grease are the three things that jam a garbage disposal most often, and fall cooking season brings all three into the kitchen at once. Run cold water before, during and for 15 seconds after every use, and never reach into a disposal that is humming but not spinning.

Key takeaways

• Potato peels, coffee grounds and grease are the three most common causes of a jammed garbage disposal.
• Cold water, not hot, should run before, during and 15 seconds after every use.
• A disposal that hums but will not spin is jammed. Hit the reset button on the bottom before anything else.
• Never put your hand inside the disposal, even with the switch off.

What jams a garbage disposal every time?

Starchy, stringy and greasy foods jam a garbage disposal because the unit grinds, it does not cut. Potato peels turn into a paste that packs around the impellers. Coffee grounds slip through and settle into sludge in the trap. Grease goes down as a liquid and hardens into a ring inside the pipe.

Keep these out of the disposal:

• Potato peels, and other starchy peels like sweet potato and yam
• Coffee grounds
• Grease, bacon fat, butter and cooking oil
• Celery, corn husks, asparagus and other stringy vegetables
• Pasta, rice and bread, which swell with water
• Bones, fruit pits and shells
• Eggshells, which grind into a grit that sticks to grease

Thanksgiving week is the busiest week of the year for disposal calls, and the reason is almost always one of the items on that list going down in a hurry while the sink is full.

Why run cold water with a garbage disposal?

Cold water keeps grease solid so the disposal chops it into small pieces that flush through. Hot water melts grease into a liquid that flows a few feet down the pipe, cools and sticks to the inside wall. Over a season that ring narrows the drain until the kitchen sink backs up.

Run the cold water first, then turn the disposal on. Keep the water running the whole time it grinds, and leave it on for about 15 seconds after you switch the disposal off. That last 15 seconds is what carries the ground-up food past the trap and into the main drain line.

What do you do when the disposal hums but will not spin?

A hum with no spin means the motor is working but something is jammed between the impeller plate and the grinding ring. Turn the switch off right away, because a humming motor that cannot turn will overheat and trip.

Look for a small red reset button on the bottom of the unit under the sink and press it. If the disposal runs normally after that, the jam cleared itself. If it hums again, or the reset button keeps tripping, the jam is still in there and it is time to call.

Do not put your hand inside the chamber, even with the power off. Do not pour chemical drain cleaner into a disposal either. It sits in the chamber, damages the seals and makes the next plumber’s job dangerous.

How do you keep a garbage disposal running clean?

Once a week, run a tray of ice cubes through the disposal with cold water. The ice knocks built-up food off the grinding ring and impellers without harming anything. A few citrus peels after the ice take care of the smell.

Run the disposal every day or two even when you have nothing to grind. A unit that sits for a week with wet food in the chamber corrodes faster and starts to smell. Scraping plates into the trash first, then rinsing, keeps the disposal doing what it was designed for: small scraps, not whole meals.

When should a garbage disposal be replaced instead of repaired?

Replace it when it jams again and again, when water leaks from the bottom of the housing or when the motor smells burnt. A leak from the bottom means the internal seal has failed, and that is not a repair.

A leak at the top, where the disposal meets the sink, or at the side where the drain connects, is usually a repair. Those are mounting ring and gasket problems. Frequent tripping of the reset button on a unit more than a few years old usually means the motor is worn, and a new unit is the better money.

What affects the price of garbage disposal repair or replacement?

The main factor is whether the unit can be repaired or has to be replaced. Clearing a jam or resealing a drain connection is a short visit. Replacing the unit depends on the model you choose, with horsepower, noise insulation and stainless steel parts moving the price.

The plumbing under the sink matters too. If the existing drain line, dishwasher connection or electrical switch needs updating to fit the new unit, that adds labor. FIXALL quotes the whole job before starting, so you see the price for the fix and, if it makes sense, the price for a replacement.

When to call FIXALL

• The disposal hums after you have pressed the reset button, or the reset keeps tripping. Our garbage disposal service clears jams and replaces worn units.
• Water is leaking from the bottom of the disposal housing into the cabinet.
• The kitchen sink backs up even when the disposal runs fine, which points to a clog farther down. Drain cleaning handles that, and we are in Marlboro and the rest of Monmouth County every day.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my garbage disposal hum but not spin?
Something is jammed between the impeller plate and the grinding ring, and the motor is straining against it. Turn the switch off, never reach inside, and press the red reset button on the bottom of the unit. If it hums again after the reset, call a plumber to clear the jam safely.

Can I put coffee grounds in a garbage disposal?
No. Coffee grounds pass through the disposal fine but settle into a dense sludge in the drain trap and build up over time. Put them in the trash or compost instead.

Should I run hot or cold water with the garbage disposal?
Cold. Cold water keeps any grease solid so it gets chopped and flushed through instead of coating the pipe. Run it before you turn the disposal on, while it runs and for about 15 seconds after you switch it off.

Jammed or leaking? We can fix it today

Call or text (732) 991-2211, or visit callfixall.com/contact, and a live person will get a tech out to your kitchen. You get upfront pricing before any work starts, whether it is a quick jam or a new unit.