Ask The Plumber

My Garbage Disposal Hums When I Use It, What Could This Be?

If you’ve turned your garbage disposal on and notice that it hums but is not grinding or draining then you can count on the problem being that the disposal is jammed.

Also, you may notice that when you turn the garbage disposal on, it may make a noise and then turn itself off. This is also a sign that it is jammed.

It is important that if you hear your garbage disposal humming, you should shut it down immediately. If you continue to run it in this condition, you can burn the motor and cause more damage.

• Before you do anything, make certain that you disconnect the power to your garbage disposal.

• Now you should check under the sink. You’ll find that there is a hex shaped hole and a wrench (that is also hex shaped) that will fit in the hole attached somewhere to your disposal.

• By putting the wrench in the hole, you can try to clean out the jam. If you can’t clear the jam, you will need to call a plumber.

• Also, if your garbage disposal is not draining, this is a plumbing problem and you won’t be able to fix it by trying to clear a jam.