Garbage Disposal Safety Tips Every Huntley Homeowner Should Follow

We hear stories all the time about homeowners who end up getting injured while trying to fix their garbage disposals. If your garbage disposal won’t turn on, has jammed, or is clogged, here’s what you need to know to stay safe:

Turn Off the Power

Before working on your garbage disposal always cut the power to the unit by unplugging it or turning off the circuit breaker that powers it. You can test it to ensure the power is off by turning the switch on. When you turn it on nothing should happen, but you’ll still want to turn the switch back to the off position before getting started for extra safety.

Don’t Put Your Hand Inside

Even with power turned off to the garbage disposal you shouldn’t put your hand inside because you can still get hurt from the impellers. This is epically true if there’s a clog or jam because when the blockage is removed the impellers can release and do damage to anything that’s down inside. If you need to free something from inside use tongs or pliers. If you need to work through a jam, use the hex key (i.e. an Allen wrench) provided with your unit, not your hand.

Keep Children and Pets Away

While working on the problem ensure that any children and pets keep a safe distance to protect them (and you!) while you work. You may also want to clear out anything that’s around your sink (trinkets, dishes and utensils, tools, etc.) so that if someone does come over while you’re working they don’t accidentally knock it in and cause additional issues.

Keep Hands Dry

It can be tempting to go back and forth from working in the sunk and under the sink, but wet hands and electricity don’t mix. While this shouldn’t be an issue if you turned off power to the garbage disposal unit at the beginning, you don’t want to run the risk of electrical shock. When you go to turn it back on after you’re done checking/working on the problem, make sure your hands are dry and then hit the reset button on the unit and test it.

If your garbage disposal isn’t working, give us a call at 1 (800) 674-9130 and we’ll come out to take a look. Our team of licensed plumbers repairs and replaces garbage disposals in Huntley for homeowners every day. We can fix a jammed garbage disposal, remove a clog, or replace a dead unit with a newer model at a reasonable price. Find out why more Huntley homeowners choose us!