All about waste-disposers

ALL ABOUT WASTE-DISPOSERS

The waste-disposer is a motor driven device that rotates some cutting blades that grind and cut, or macerate organic waste.

Disposers are installed under one of the kitchen sink drains and they are activated from a separate power switch.

In general they are very robust and reliable machines, they are self cleaning and require little to no maintenance, as long as they are operated correctly.

It is important to always run cold water through the disposer when grinding up food waste as this helps liquify the waste and make sure no material causes any blockages in the drain lines.

It is also recommended that you do not use hot water, cold water helps congeal and solidify fats and greases making them easy to grind up with other food, hot water tends to transfer the fat further down and cause blockages.

If you want to wreck your waste-disposer then also attempt to grind up clam, mussel and oyster shells, corn husk and other material with a similar makeup, also pushing down very large bone pieces such as that from a T-bone steak are not helpful either.

This will jam up the macerator plates as well as wreck the cutting blades. Small bones and egg shells actually help the waste-disposer by scraping away food residues and caked on material. Another way of keeping the interior clean is also to grind up some ice.

More waste-disposers are damaged by attempting to grind up glass, or metallic items that include bottle caps, aluminum foil, tin and can covers, plastic coated wire ties from bread packaging, and the list goes on.

Waste-disposers are a good source of bacterial contamination and unpleasant smells and odors in a kitchen. They should be flushed through regularly and also deodorized regularly.

What is wrong with my waste-disposer

Safety comes first and before troubleshooting your waste-disposer always switch off and unplug the unit. Routine problems such as leaks are relatively common and are due to damaged gaskets, and in some cases the entire unit will require replacement as they are not easily repairable. Maintain all waste-disposers by rinsing well with water after use and deodorizing regularly.

Disposer will not operate

Check that the reset button has not tripped out or that the power switch or circuit breaker supplying the circuit is not off. Circuit or motor tripping is generally caused by overheating and overloading the grinding motor. This also may be caused by a motor failure. Also check the stopper switch if one is installed.

Disposer hums but will not grind the waste

This may be instantaneous or after a few seconds of loud whirring. The macerator plates are probably clogged or jammed up with non-food waste.

Don’t keep trying to operate as the motor can be burnt out through overheating while in a stalled condition. Plastic debris and bones are the most common cause of jamming.

Most units have a ¼" Allen wrench port at the bottom that is used to move the macerator plates and free them up when jammed (isolate the unit before touching this!). Some units also may have a reversing switch that needs to be operated.

Disposer hums but is not jammed

This is a sign that the electric motor has or is failing. Another cause may be that the motor bearings are seized, in both cases a new macerator is a cheaper option.

Disposer makes an excessive noise

This can be caused by loose components, such as the macerator or cutting plates, bearings that are failing, or some metallic objects are caught in the unit.

Disposer does not macerate waste properly

The macerator plates are worn and the disposer will require replacement or serving with new blades.

Disposer drains down slowly

The disposer drain line may be clogged with grease or an accumulation of material so you should rinse very hot water through it.

Run more cold water through when grinding waste. This also might indicate that the macerator plates may be worn and grinding inadequately with larger particles causing blockage.