A garbage disposer, also known as a disposal, is often treated like a mechanized goat. Feed it anything. Unfortunately, a garbage disposer doesn't have the intestinal fortitude of a goat--so it can break. That's when you can step up and fix it.

How Does It Work?

A garbage disposer is a small appliance with a motor that grinds waste from food preparation into liquid for washing down the drain.

Impellers attached to the motor turn a flywheel to cut and grind food in the chamber into waste small enough to flush down the drain and into the sewer or septic system. If a dishwasher is nearby, a line from the dishwasher attaches to the garbage disposer so debris from the dishwater can be caught by the disposer. The entire disposer unit is attached to the bottom of the sink using a flange, ring, and mounting bolts. It is plugged into an under-sink electrical outlet for power.

With minimal maintenance, a garbage disposer can outlive a goat. Simple maintenance includes ensuring that a disposer's enemies--grease, large items, hard items, and fibrous foods--be eliminated from its diet.

What Can Go Wrong?

How can you tell when something your garbage disposer ate disagrees with it? The unit will either become clogged or make extraneous noise. What causes these problems? The flywheel may be jammed. Hoses and seals can leak. The impeller can become worn. The motor can fail. Fortunately, they all can be fixed.

Fix-It Tip

If the disposer won't start after unjamming, wait at least 10 minutes for the motor to cool fully, then press the reset button, if there is one, on the underside of the unit and try again.