Jamming with the Pros: A guide to safely resolving a garbage disposal blockage

Remember fishing bits of soggy lasagna from the plug so that the greasy dish water could drain? Ugh! Dark days! We have since formed a close relationship with our garbage disposal, and the idea of washing up (and clearing the sink plug after) without one makes us shiver in dread. Like all gadgets, however, sometimes they just have a bad day. If you’re staring down the barrel of a jammed garbage disposal, read on to see the light at the end of the kitchen sink drain.

Safety First

We don’t want to go all Osha over you, but we absolutely cannot continue with step-by-step how-tos unless we make sure you are completely aware of the hazards here. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out what could go wrong (anyone else seen Amazon Women on the Moon?). So here are a couple of reminders before we get started:

Turn off the power. We can’t stress this enough. In fact, you get bonus points for switching off the circuit breaker in addition to unplugging or turning off the disposal unit.

Have a buddy with you. Just in case you do encounter an accident, having someone to make sure you’re okay is important.

Be ready to stop at any point. Please remember that, although you might be able to do this yourself, you don’t have to. You can have a trained Roto-Rooter tech by your side, taking the risks for you, the very same day.

Now we have that out the way, let’s get on with the instructions!

The nitty-gritty of clearing a disposal

You want to figure out what’s caused the block. Is it a rogue teaspoon that’s gotten chucked in by mistake, or is it a corn husk that’s knotted around the blades? Knowing the cause will help you know what tools you’ll need to fix the problem. This is where that mini torch on dad’s car keys finally fulfils its life ambition.

Use tongs or pliers to extract an obstruction. This should be easy enough for a large object that has fallen in. While you’re there, use your tool of choice to manually rotate the blades to make sure you’ve cleared the problem.

If the above hasn’t solved the issue, find yourself a hex key (you’ll find one in the packet of leftover screws from your last Ikea purchase), insert it into the bottom slot, and turn it back and forth a few times. It’s difficult to properly describe this step, but if you’re also following along with our YouTube tutorial.

No joy? It’s not you.

If you’ve studied the tutorial and faithfully followed all the steps above but your disposal is stubbornly sticking to its jammed-up ways, your next step is to give us a call. Additionally, if you find that your disposal is jamming frequently or the blockage is accompanied by water pooling under the sink, you definitely want a qualified plumber to come have a look at our plumbing service.

We can be there and have the problem solved the same day, and you get to enjoy a cup of coffee with one of our very charming Roto-Rooter technicians. Just like Judy here:

P.S. If you’re considering a garbage disposal system, we recommend anything from this website: moen.com

No, we’re not sponsored; this is just the Ferrari or NutriBullet of the garbage disposal world, and we don’t gate-keep tips like this.