Garbage grinder / disposer inspection, troubleshooting & repair guide:

This article describes simple steps that you can take to get a residential garbage grinder working again.

These quick inspection points and tips are accompanied by links to detailed inspection, diagnosis, and repair for most appliances found in homes, from room air conditioners to washing machines and water heaters.

Garbage Grinders / Waste Disposers

As discussed in Carson Dunlop Associates Home Reference Book,

If the disposer is inoperative, the fuse or breaker at the main panel may have tripped, the overload protector may have tripped, the stopper or wall switch may be faulty, or the motor may be faulty.

Photo: an In-Sink Erator Food Waste Disposer installed in 1963 in a home in northern Minnesota.

[Click to enlarge any image]

If the disposer does not grind, the motor may be faulty or the flywheel may be jammed.

If the disposer grinds slowly, there may be insufficient water flow, the shredder ring may be dull, a flyweight may be broken, or the drain line may be clogged.

If the garbage grinder or waste disposer leaks, there may be a loose plumbing connection or defective gasket.

Watch out: loose electrical connections, switches, or controls around plumbing and water are especially dangerous as they increase the risk of shock and electrocution.

If the waste disposer is noisy, the motor may be faulty, a flyweight may be broken, a metal object may be in the unit, or the unit may be loose. Splash Guard If the splash guard is worn, damaged or missing, it should be replaced. If the unit is loose, it should be re-secured.

Below: a manual on-off switch installed under the sink to control the garbage grinder shown above.

Watch out: because the user is near plumbing, a metal sink, and water, the switch and circuit would be and should be made safer if protected by GFCI ground-fault circuit interrupter.

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Continue reading at APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• GARBAGE GRINDER / DISPOSER REPAIR - home
• GARBAGE DISPOSAL vs SEPTICS
• GARBAGE GRINDERS on SEPTIC or SEWER
• SULPHUR & SEWER GAS SMELL SOURCES
• [1] WASTE KING GARBAGE DISPOSER product specifications, Anaheim Manufacturing 4240 E. La Palma Avenue Anaheim, California 92807 (800) 854-3229 www.wasteking.com,
  
  and also garbage disposer replacement parts list, web search 08/11/2010, original source: Waste King disposer parts, http://www.plumbingsupply.com/disposer.html
• [2] BUILDING CODE TREATS GARBAGE GRINDER as ADDED BEDROOM in sizing septic tanks and estimating septic tank pumping needs. New York State Septic System Design Regulations 75-A.6
  
• SEPTIC TANK DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS capacity requirements, installation, and placements
• [3] GARBAGE GRINDER OUTPUT in SEPTIC SLUDGE - how much do garbage disposers contribute to septic tank sludge?
• [4] SEPTIC SYSTEM LIFE EXTENSION Ten Steps to Keeping a Septic System Working, suggestions from the U.S. EPA, edits and additions by DJF
• [5] SEPTIC SYSTEM MAINTENANCE advises to count a garbage grinder as one more bedroom
• [6] SEPTIC SYSTEM CAPACITY affected by garbage disposal units
• TOILETS, DON'T FLUSH LIST - home

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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