First, make it safe to work on
Turn the wall switch off. Then either unplug the disposal from the outlet under the sink or turn off its breaker. A switch alone is not enough, because a switch can be bumped or flipped by someone who did not know you were under there.
Never put your hand into the grinding chamber, even with the power off. InSinkErator's own jam instructions say not to place your hand in the disposal at any time. Use tongs or long-nosed pliers to pull anything out, and shine a flashlight in first. The same instructions describe turning the plate at the bottom of the chamber by hand, with a wooden spoon, to free a jam, which is exactly why a hand does not belong in there.
Why is my garbage disposal clogged and not draining?
Run the water and look at what it does.
- The motor hums and nothing turns. Something is jammed against the spinning plate. A spoon, a bone, a fruit pit or a bottle cap is the usual culprit.
- Nothing happens at all, not even a hum. The unit has tripped its overload, or the outlet or breaker has no power.
- It grinds fine but the water backs up into the sink. The chamber is not jammed. The pipe after it is blocked.
- Both sides of a double sink fill, or water rises in the other bowl. The blockage is farther down than the disposal.
That sorting step saves you from taking apart a disposal when the trouble is in the line. If the unit grinds without strain and the sink still fills, skip ahead to the trap and discharge section.
Garbage disposal humming but not spinning
A hum with no movement means the motor has power and cannot turn. Switch it off right away, because a motor that keeps trying to turn against a jam heats up and trips its overload. The fix is to free the jam by hand tool, below. If it hums, shuts itself off after a short time and will not restart until you press the red button, that is the overload doing its job, and the jam is still there.
The reset button and the hex key
Most disposals have two quick fixes built in.
1. Power off, as above.
2. Find the red reset button. InSinkErator describes it as a red square button on the bottom of the unit, facing the floor. When it has tripped, it sits dropped down about a quarter of an inch. Press it gently. If it does not stay up, wait ten minutes and try again.
3. Find the hex key socket. On InSinkErator units the manufacturer places a socket in the center of the bottom of the disposal, facing the floor, and a quarter-inch Allen wrench fits it. Work the key back and forth until it turns freely in full circles in both directions. Some force is acceptable, and the maker's own wrench is designed to bend before it harms the unit.
4. Pull out what was stuck, using tongs and a flashlight, with the power still off.
5. Press reset, restore power, run cold water, and test.
Some units have no socket underneath. The maker's instruction for those is to rotate the plate from above with a wooden spoon handle. Other brands vary, so check the owner's manual or look up the model number on the label before you start prying at the bottom of the unit.
Garbage disposal not turning on and no sound
No hum and no click usually means no power is reaching the motor. Check, in this order: the wall switch, the reset button underneath, the outlet under the sink if the unit plugs in, and the breaker. If the red button pops back out as soon as you press it, stop there. The motor or the wiring is the trouble, and that is repair or replacement, not a reset.
How to unclog a garbage disposal with standing water
Standing water in the sink means the water has nowhere to go, and the chamber may be clear. InSinkErator's clog instructions say to use a plunger. In a double sink, block off the other drain opening first, and fill the sink with about four inches of water so the plunger cup is covered. Press down gently and pull up sharply, several times. If the water drops and the unit then grinds normally, the plug was in or just past the disposal. If the water does not drop, the blockage is farther down, and you go to the trap. Do not run the disposal to see whether it cleared, because that sends ground waste into a pipe that is already stopped.
Clearing the trap and the discharge tube
If the chamber is clear and the sink still backs up, the blockage is in the pipe leaving the disposal. This is how it is laid out under the sink: the disposal discharges through a short elbow or tube into a P-trap, and from the trap the pipe runs into the wall. Food that was ground fine but not flushed well settles in those first few feet as a thick paste.
1. Set a bucket under the trap and put on rubber gloves. Expect standing water and a smell.
2. Loosen the nut where the discharge tube meets the trap and the nut on the trap arm, and take the trap off.
3. Empty it into the bucket, and clean it out with a bottle brush.
4. Look into the discharge tube from the disposal side. Greasy packed paste often sits right in that elbow, and you can scrape it with a spoon handle.
5. Reassemble, run water, and check each joint with a dry paper towel.
If there is a hard-stop clog past the trap, a hand auger fed into the wall pipe is the next tool. Be realistic about it: a disposal line sees a lot of grease and food starch, and a light cable often punches through and slides back out without clearing the pipe wall.
Why is my dishwasher not draining into the garbage disposal?
A dishwasher drains through a hose, and that hose ties into either the disposal or the sink drain. When the dishwasher leaves standing water in the bottom, look at the disposal end of that connection first.
- The knockout plug was never removed. A new disposal has a plastic plug in the dishwasher inlet. Both InSinkErator and Whirlpool describe the same job: tap the plug out with a screwdriver and hammer, then fish it out of the chamber with needle-nose pliers, power off. Whirlpool calls a left-in plug a common misdiagnosis for a clogged dishwasher. If the plug was left in, the dishwasher cannot drain into the disposal. This happens right after a disposal is replaced.
- Food packed into the inlet. The short nipple where the dishwasher hose connects can clog with ground food. Disconnect the hose clamp and clean it, with the power off.
- The air gap or high loop. Many sinks have a small chrome air gap fitting on the countertop, and a hose runs from the dishwasher up to it. If it is clogged, water backs up or gurgles out of it. Unscrew the cap and clean the inside. Without an air gap, Whirlpool says the drain hose must be installed with a proper high loop or connected to an air gap, as required by local codes. Local code decides which one your house needs, and your dishwasher's installation sheet gives the height for your model. A hose lying low can let sink water flow back toward the dishwasher.
- A kinked or crushed hose. Look behind the dishwasher or under the sink for a bend.
If the dishwasher drains only when the sink is empty, the blockage is downstream of both.
Garbage disposal backing up into the other side of the sink
Water rising in the second bowl while the disposal runs is the classic sign of a blockage past the disposal. The two bowls share the same drain line, so the water the disposal discharges has nowhere to go and rises in the open bowl. Grinding more does not help. The disposal is working, and the pipe it discharges into is stopped. Clean the trap and the discharge tube as above, and if the second bowl still fills, the clog is in the wall pipe or past it.
Garbage disposal not draining after a chemical or home remedy
Vinegar and baking soda can freshen a disposal and loosen a thin film. They do not clear a jam or a packed pipe, and a fizzing mixture sitting in a full sink just adds more liquid to a drain that cannot take it. A chemical opener is a different problem. InSinkErator tells owners not to reach for drain cleaners, and the product sits in the chamber and trap, still active, for whoever opens the unit next. Read our page on putting drain cleaner in a garbage disposal before pouring anything in.
Where the DIY route goes wrong
- Forcing the plate with a screwdriver instead of the hex key, which damages the unit.
- Running the disposal with a clogged drain, which forces ground waste into the trap and makes the blockage denser.
- Pouring in a chemical opener, which does not clear a jam and turns the next person to open the trap into a chemical hazard.
- Replacing the trap with the nuts overtightened, which cracks plastic and leaks into the cabinet.
- Using hot water to flush grease. InSinkErator recommends a cool or cold steady stream while the disposal runs, so any fat stays solid as it passes through.
When should I stop and call a plumber?
Call if any of these apply:
- The hex key will not turn, or the unit still hums after you freed it.
- The reset button trips again right away.
- Water drips from the body of the disposal.
- The trap and discharge tube are clean and the sink still holds water.
- Both bowls, or another fixture, back up when you run the water.
- The dishwasher still holds water after the knockout plug, hose and air gap are checked.
- You poured a drain opener in first. Say so when you call.
For the sink side of the problem, see clogged sink. The drain snaking page explains how a cable machine is matched to a pipe, and toilets, faucets and sinks lists the other fixture work we do. A grease-coated line keeps coming back, and hydro jetting is how the pipe wall gets cleaned. Multiple fixtures backing up together, or sewage coming up, is a main-line problem: stop using water and call.
What it costs
Clearing a single branch line, one fixture and not a main line clog, is covered by our $59 drain cleaning special. Past that, what moves the price is which fixture is involved, whether there is a cleanout or other way in, whether the line needs a cable or jetting, and whether the trouble sits in the branch or the main. We diagnose first, then hand you a flat price in writing that you approve before anything starts. It is a flat rate and not an hourly meter, and on-site estimates are free.
What is the dishwasher air gap?
A small fitting on the countertop or sink that the dishwasher drain hose runs through. If it is clogged, water backs up or gurgles from it. Unscrew the cap to clean it, and know that local code decides whether an air gap or a high loop is required.
Why is water coming up in the other side of my sink from the disposal?
Both bowls share the same drain line, so a blockage past the disposal sends the water up the open bowl. The disposal is working and the pipe after it is stopped, so grinding more will not help.
Is it safe to reach into a garbage disposal with the power off?
Do not put a hand in the chamber at all. InSinkErator's instructions say not to place your hand in the disposal at any time, so use tongs or long pliers.
Can I use a snake on a disposal line?
A hand auger can go through the trap arm after the trap is off, but a light cable tends to punch a hole in grease and leave the pipe wall coated.
Where we work
American Rooter & Drain was established in Caldwell, Idaho in 1945 and has worked the greater Treasure Valley since 1945. We snake drains in Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Meridian, Kuna, Eagle, Star, Middleton, Garden City, Emmett and the rest of the valley, plus Ontario, Nyssa and Vale in Oregon. See what we do in Boise, Nampa, Caldwell and Meridian. Call (208) 366-5771, days, nights, weekends and holidays.
