How to Empty a Garbage Disposal

Video transcription

My name is William Perkinson and I'm here to tell you how to empty the garbage disposal. Now hopefully your garbage disposal does not get filled because once you flip the switch it is supposed to empty automatically but from time to time we put things down there that we shouldn't or sometimes like a paper towel can get down there and clog it up anyway but then you'll know by the smell that it is time to empty that baby but what we'll do is we will reach in and there is a rubber fitting that keeps spoons and stuff hopefully from falling down in there and it is just a friction fit. You'll stick two fingers through the middle and pop it out. It looks about like this. Now sometimes around the edges you can get odor, can get built up and it smells funny. You can put that in the dishwasher but a lot of people don't realize that comes out at all. Anyhow you never want to stick your hand down in there because strange things happen and this disposal could come on and you could lose a finger but hey we're going to use tongs like these and we'll reach in and you'll pull whatever it is out. If it is potato peelings, if it is a paper towel, whatever it is and we'll get it out of there. Now if it has been clogged for a while you have got a couple of problems. There is probably going to be an odor and it is going to need cleaning and there is two different ways to take care of that. One, just for general cleaning out of the chamber there you can take some ice and pour it in there and fill it up with ice and if you have got some rock salt for making ice cream in a churn pour that in there as well and hit the switch for just a few seconds, it will clear and it should cleanse and clean and take care of your blades for you just in no time and then if there is that lingering smell you take a lemon, you can drop it in whole or you can cut it into quarters and put it in, same thing, turn it on for just a few seconds. It will take care of all that. Now one thing you want to look out for, if you have removed the rubber seal at the top you are probably going to get some splashing but that's perfectly o'kay. You can put the seal back in if you want to. I want to caution you never pour drain cleaner, bleach, ammonia, in there and turn it on to clean it with. They are just too strong and the chance of them splashing out and getting in your eye or getting on your clothing and ruining that is just, is too, the probability is high that that is going to happen so don't do that, your manufacturer doesn't recommend it and neither do I, but a little lemon in there and that ought to take care of it. My name is William Perkinson and that's how to empty a garbage disposal.