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Unjam from the Bottom with a Wrench — Attempt to Free the Jam from Above (If Necessary)

Beginner2 hours

Part of project

How to Fix a Humming or Jammed Garbage Disposal · Step 4 of 7

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In this video

Locate the small hexagonal hole in the center of the bottom of the garbage disposal unit. Insert the garbage disposal wrench key (or a correctly sized Allen wrench) into this hole. Firmly grasp the wrench and work it back and forth, rotating it in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. This manual rotation will move the motor and grinding plates, dislodging whatever object is causing the jam. Continue this motion until the motor can spin freely for a full 360-degree rotation.

Goal: Manually rotate the disposal's motor to free the jam.

  • A flashlight will be very helpful for locating the hole and reset button on the bottom of the unit.
  • If the wrench key is difficult to turn, apply steady pressure. Do not force it so hard that you strip the socket or break the wrench.

Used in this video

  • Garbage Disposal Wrench Key (Tool Type: Allen Wrench) — To manually turn the garbage disposal motor from the bottom of the unit.
  • Flashlight (Flashlight_Type: Handheld) · optional — To illuminate the work area under the sink.
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FAQs

What is the most crucial safety step before I start, and why?

The most crucial safety step is to ALWAYS disconnect power to the garbage disposal at your home's circuit breaker before performing any work. This prevents the unit from accidentally turning on, which could lead to severe injury while your hands or tools are inside the disposal.

My disposal is humming but not grinding; does this mean it's jammed, and how is that different from a complete jam?

Yes, a humming disposal almost always indicates it's jammed. The motor is receiving power but cannot turn the grinding plates due to an obstruction. A 'complete jam' means the motor isn't even humming, often indicating the reset button has tripped due to overload.

Do I need all the specific tools listed, like the specialized wrench, or are there alternatives for clearing a jam?

While the project lists a general wrench and a precision screwdriver, the most critical tool for freeing a jam from below is a 1/4-inch hex key or Allen wrench, which often comes with new disposals. A strong flashlight like the Panther Vision FLATEYE is highly recommended for visibility, and tongs or pliers are great for removing items from above instead of your hand.

I've pressed the reset button, but my disposal still won't work or just hums again. What should I do next?

If the reset button immediately trips again or the disposal hums but doesn't spin, it likely means the obstruction hasn't been fully cleared, or there's a more serious electrical issue. Go back to step 3 to thoroughly ensure no items are obstructing the grinding plates and try manually turning the flywheel again with the hex key. If problems persist, it might be time to call a plumber.

Transcript
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But one of the easiest items is if you've got a tool like this, it is a garbage disposal wrench key. And it's also better known as an Allen wrench basically. But at the very bottom of every single one of these garbage disposal, you have a spot for that key to go into. There's a little hole down inside there, and what you're going to want to do is you want to put that inside the hole right there in the center, and then go ahead and turn that key. So let's see if I can do this. There we go. That fits right up inside there. And once we get that in there, that's playing, it's being a little difficult here for me. Okay, maybe I got the wrong side on there. Let's see. It's never supposed to be quite that difficult. Let's try that again. Okay, there we go. Now that we've got the key put inside there, as you can see, I can freely turn the garbage disposal. It's a garbage disposal. Okay, and a lot of times this will unjam it. Sometimes if it's a real hard jam, and there's something that got inside there, there's usually a little red button that needs to be reset on the bottom.

Auto-generated transcript. May contain errors.