There you are, making a meal for your family, and you go to dump some of the excess food into the garbage disposal. This time it works fine, but the more and more use it gets, the longer it takes to grind up the same amount of food. Eventually, it breaks on you, just like any other kitchen appliance that has seen its better days. Not to worry, garbage disposal issues are very common, as it takes a beating having to deal with thousands of gallons of water, soap, food, and the occasional object that should have never gone down there, to begin with. There are a few common problems that you may find that we will discuss to determine whether you need the garbage disposal repaired or replaced.

There are times when a garbage disposal is working fine but is not making any noise, and that is okay. However, if the disposal is not making noise and is not tearing up food, then we have something that needs to be checked. You want to make sure everything is plugged in properly first. Once that is attended to, you’ll want to find the red reset button and press it. If the reset does not fix your problem, make sure that the circuit breaker did not trip. If none of these are the case or you tried this, and your garbage disposal still is not working, it will most likely need to be replaced. 

There are times when a garbage disposal is leaking water as well. This usually happens as a result of the rubber gasket needing to be re-sealed, but there are other reasons for this occurrence as well. A common instance is that the garbage disposal can experience cracks and holes due to a random object finding its way in there, or it could get a crack just because of repeated use and its age. There could also be an issue with the connection between the dishwasher and the drain hose. This could be fixed with a simple tightening of the bolts, but it could be that it needs a new gasket.

There are times when you think the garbage disposal is working fine, but there is an odor coming out of it that you cannot seem to get rid of. This usually means that the motor is running smooth as silk, but the blades are jammed and cannot cut up the food properly. This leads to chunks of food you thought were gone actually just decomposing inside the garbage disposal. Sadly the blades are not something that can be repaired, and you’ll most likely have to get the thing replaced.

If you find yourself having any of these problems or something that is not mentioned here, make sure to give us at Blair Plumbing a call at (504) 733-9113, and we will help you get your disposal back on track. We service the areas of New Orleans, Metairie, and Harahan and are eager to help you today!