By Don Segavac

When something stops working in your household, it can be a remarkable inconvenience. Here are some ideas of what to do if your garbage disposal unit has stopped working.

Here is what you can do to get it going again:  If is it making a noise like it wants to operate, something is most likely obstructing the grinding blades from turning. Most units come with a disposal wrench.  With the power turned off place the wrench into the bottom of the disposal unit and turn it back and forth to try and free up the unit. If it starts to turn freely, use a pair of tongs to remove the debris that is causing the problem, then turn the power on to see if it is operating properly.

If it is not making any type of noise you should check your electrical service panel to see if the breaker has tripped. If the breaker is on than look at the bottom of the disposal unit, you should find a reset button, it is usually red.  Press it to reset the unit. If it is still not working you need to replace it or have a professional repair it. Remember to think safety when working with electrical appliances!