How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water
A garbage disposal clogged with water accumulation is such an annoying and unhygienic problem that everyone wants to avoid. Besides, it affects the normal use of your kitchen sink, and musty smells, an unhygienic situation, and possible clogging in the plumbing system can occur if not solved. But the good news is that if you follow these steps, you will be able to clear the clog and have your kitchen back to working as it should.
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water? In this article, you will learn how to clean your garbage disposal along with tips on how to avoid such a situation in the future. This guide will also provide important safety measures and necessary instructions for the proper functioning of your disposal.
Garbage Disposal System: A Review
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water. To understand how to unclog a garbage disposal, it is important to have a brief idea of the workings of a garbage disposal system. A garbage disposal is a patented product that goes under your kitchen sink and is operated through electricity. It is expected to disintegrate the food waste into small particles as soon as they are supposed to be flushed through the pipes. But due to misplacement, wear, tear, and the trash heap, the disposal can be blocked, making the disposal useless.
Some common causes of clogs include:
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water
Inappropriate Waste: Grease, coffee grounds, and fibrous foods like celery or even potato peels should not be disposed of in the unit.
Overloading: It is very bad to tip out large portions of food at a single ride since this will flood the system.
Foreign Objects: Cutlery forks or spoons, small kitchen instruments, or other non-food items might fall into the disposal, causing a jam.
These are areas that may be possible causes for your disposal to block and what you will need to do to get them out of the way.
Symptoms That Indicate That Your Garbage Disposal Is Clogged
How do you know that your garbage disposal is jammed? Look out for these signs:
- Standing Water: The simplest indication that there is a blockage is if water is stagnating in the sink.
- Unpleasant Odors: Concentrating the leftovers of food that are clogged in the pipes can cause unpleasant odors.
- Unusual Noises: There are problems, and if the disposal hums but never grinds, then the blades are frozen up.
- Slow Drainage: Sometimes the flow of water can be slowed down by the presence of food debris demanding complete blockage.
Assessing the Situation
In tackling it, you need to first evaluate the severity of the situation in order to know how deep you have to go. Follow these preliminary steps:
- Turn Off the Power: Always begin by turning off the power and water supply on your garbage disposal. It is recommended that you either remove it from the power source or turn off the power that supplies it. This in turn makes the process safe while unclogging.
- Check for Visible Blockages: If you do not have a flashlight, you’ll need to get one immediately before trying to investigate the disposal and the sink drain for any easily recognizable blockages. Examples include bones, spoons, forks, large pieces of lettuce, or vegetables.
- Isolate the Problem: Ensure that the standing water in the sink area is as a result of the disposal or there is a problem with the sink’s drainage system.
Tools You Will Need
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water. Before you begin the unclogging process, gather the following tools to ensure you have everything on hand:
- Plumber’s Wrench: Indispensable for the rotation of the blades with a bare hand while disposing of waste.
- Pliers or Tongs: For debris or foreign bodies removal in a safe manner.
- Flashlight: Assists to effectively visualize inside the disposal unit.
- Rubber gloves: don’t touch things with sharp edges, and don’t wash your hands in dirty water.
- Baking soda and vinegar: organic solutions to tackle blockage and eliminate bad smells.
- Bucket or Bowl: For mopping or trapping water.The outer lip of the space between this edge and the next is slightly raised above the main stripper area, forming a lip for holding standing water or for catching pooled liquids.
- Plunger: If needed, it can aid in loosening hard to remove obstruction in the pipe line.
Everything You Need to Know About Emptying and Cleaning Your Garbage Disposal
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water
Step 1: Remove Standing Water
The process should start with the management of the largest amount of water possible that could still be retrieved from the sink. With a cup or bowl, pour the water into a bucket. This will help in avoiding splashes whenever you begin with the disposal and will make its operation cleaner.
Step 2: Should be inspected
This undone garment is described as a form that should be inspected for debris. If it must endure the slump disgrace, then it must also be disintegrated for debris.
The first step is to give the flash light to the holder and look at the inside of the disposal for any blockage that could easily be seen. If you discover any things, such as bones, leftover foods, or other items (utensils, small devices), you should use pliers or tongs to pick up the items. Do not place your hand in the disposal without protection of any sort, be it gloves or an oven mitt.
Step 3: Manually Turn the Blades
If no obstruction is visible, then there is a likelihood that the blades of the disposal are trapped. Turn the wrench counterclockwise until the flap of the disposer is free of the impeller rod located into the hexagonal hole of the disposal unit. Working the wrench around the fastener usually produces additional lateral motion, and wiggle it back and forth carefully to dislodge any more debris. I personally have found that this action can help to unclog the obstruction most of the time.
Step 4: Flush with Cold Water
Having done this by hand, switch the disposal power back on and simultaneously run cold water in the sink. Switch on the disposal and let it work for a few minutes to clear out the rest of the debris from the pipes. Cold water is effective in stiffening grease and food particles so they can with ease move through the disposal.
Step 5: Use a baking soda and vinegar solution
For those hard-to-budge clogs, you can use a natural homemade cleaner. First, pour about half a cup of baking soda into the disposal, then half a cup of white vinegar. The combination will cause a fizz and should do the trick in breaking down further chewed-up food particles. It is advisable to allow the solution to stand for 15-20 minutes before rinsing with hot water.
Step 6: Plunge the Sink
If the clog remains, next time try starting with plunging for the sink. In a case of a bathtub stoppage, a plunger should be placed over the stoppage and pressure applied gently. This can assist in preventing any clogging or food debris from becoming trapped further down the plumbing.
Step 7: Repeat as necessary
At times, especially when you realize that clogs persist, you will need to perform these steps several times. Don’t be discouraged. It also helps to try and switch between the blades or add more of the baking soda and vinegar.
Step 8: Seek Professional Assistance
If the above-mentioned techniques cannot rectify the situation, then it’s high time you seek the services of a plumber. Expert cleaners possess professional equipment that assists in clearing tough drainages, and besides, they conduct further examinations to diagnose the cause of the clog in the drain system.
Preventing Future Clogs
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water ? In an effort to prevent such an event in the future, there are steps one needs to take after successfully freelancing your garbage disposal. Here are some tips:
Use Cold Water: Cold water should be used when using disposal to avoid condensing of grease onto the blades.
Avoid Problematic Foods: It is recommended that fibrous vegetables, coffee grounds, egg shells, or any greasy items should not be flushed down the disposal.
Cut Food Waste into Smaller Pieces: When it comes to augmented risks, big pieces of food contribute most to the blockages. Chop products into smaller pieces before attempting to dispose of them in the disposal unit.
Use Baking Soda and Vinegar Regularly: Occasionally, you need to clean your disposal because there are portions of your disposal that have deposits that cause offensive odors as well as stains, and the best way is through baking soda and vinegar.
Run Disposal Regularly: One way is if you constantly run the disposal with water; this reduces rust and corrosion, which could further harm the disposal.
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water ? It might sound like a very daunting task to try and unclog a garbage disposal that has standing water, but once you follow the right procedures, then you will find it quite easy to clear the blockage and have your kitchen back to working order.
However, safety should always be the cardinal check, and make sure that there is no power or current passing through the circuit before applying your diagnosis. But with the right equipment and some simple measures of prevention, you can prevent future clogs and ensure that your disposal operates optimally. If none of these methods seems effective, you should also think about hiring a professional plumber to do the work properly.
How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal with Standing Water? Modern garbage disposal units can remain as useful as they are helpful if their owners learn about them and how they can keep them working longer without clogging.