Even with careful cleaning and maintenance, few glitches on your garbage disposal device can still occur.

When this happens you can either attempt to do some basic troubleshooting and see if it works, or you may opt to call for professional skills if you don’t trust your basic plumbing skills to work for you.

Either ways, it is important to recognize the first signs of your waste disposal device performance or malfunction to ensure that you address the problem immediately and prevent it from causing further damages.

Below are top disposal unit issues you may encounter in the long run. Take note of their causes and basic troubleshooting so you’ll have an idea on what to do the moment you’re faced with the situation.

1. Device doesn’t turn on

The obvious reason for this is that the device is not plugged on its socket. It’s pretty obvious but strangely, a number still underestimates and disregards this thing.

Try to check if you’ve properly plugged it in. If not, then unplug it and plug it back in. Click the reset button of your device to reboot. It should work right after. Try the same process again for two to three times. If there is still no indication of it turning on, consult a technician.

2. Device produces a ‘humming’ sound

This humming sound may be because of (1) something is jammed on your device (2) seized motor bearing.

If it’s the latter, then the only solution is to replace your device, but if it’s the former, you may remove whatever it is that causes the jam by yourself. Do remember that you should turn off the device and never place your hand directly on the grinder once you decide to remove whatever is stuck on it.

Secure a flashlight to examine the material that is stuck on the device and pliers or tongs to remove it.

After removing the foreign material, turn on the device again and flush your sink with water. This will remove whatever food residue is left on the grinder. The humming sound should also stop by now.

If however the sound continues, the problem might not be in the grinder or the flywheel but on the motor bearing. Before deciding to buy a new device, have it checked by a technician first. One professional consultation might save some bucks in buying a new one.

3. Water leakage

If you notice how water (dirty water) seeps back on your sink and how it slowly flushes down waste products, then mostly likely, the problem has something to do with the bolts of your device.

Your disposal device have bolts that hold it in place and as time pass by, with your device’s daily usage, there is the chance of these bolts to loosen up. Once this happens, water starts to seep back to your sink – very unhygienic if you consider the dirt and leftover mixed on it.

You can get your pliers and try to tighten the bolts yourself. It should do the trick. If not, a plumber can do it for you.

Anything else you want to add on the list? What was the recent problem you had with your device?