Carrot and potato peels are also no no's. There is a place on the bottom of it somewhere where you can empty it out...and also a reset button, I think. I'm thinking you just need to get all of the peels out of it and restart it...you probably don't need a new one. But..it the future don't put carrots or potato peels down it either. I hate my garbage disposal unit and would never have put one in, but it came with the house...

Personally, I hate them.

got one now, in this house, but at the first sign of trouble, or some spare/extra time I will take it out. It stinks most of the time. We really don't put food down it, so I don't know why. I try to run it every day with some water running.

First time I ever had one, it got stopped up when potato peels went down.

I just never put food down one again, and that one I took out. Now, rats, its all over again, since there was one here when we moved in.

If you can get it going again, don't up banana peels, orange, potato and carrot peels down it.

Other than that, I have no advice.

Moni

Any good disposal should be able to chew up any of the things mentioned in the above posts. Mine does small chicken bones, even corn cobs that are first broken into about 2 inch pieces. The most important thing to remember is that ample water must be used while grinding and let the water run for a couple minutes when the grinding is done. The disposal in my sink is almost 12 years old and has never failed.

I wonder why my parent's disposal took everything without any problems? What brand is your's Gazania?

When we built our current house in 2001 I decided against installing a disposal. I've never regretted the decision. I have a pull-out in the lower cabinet to the left of my kitchen sink. It has two containers, one each for garbage and recycling.

At our old house I was unhappy having *garbage* inches from whatever I had in the sink. I don't know of a way to keep a disposal sanitary.

The In-Sink-O-Rator (sp?) that came with our condo eats just about anything and seldom clogs. I've been able to reverse the mechanism using a broom handle the few times it did clog. (Stick the handle into the gears at the bottom of the disposal and push until they 'give'.)

Probably not if it is still running. it probably just had an accumulated buildup of sludge and gunk on the blade and ports.

Disconnect the power and get inside with a screwdriver,tongs or pliers and feel around for things like leaves,peelings or bone fragments that may be stuck. After you've gotten any obvious stuff out run a couple trays of ice cubes and a cup of rock salt through it.

To keep your disposal clean run a couple trays of ice cubes through now and then. Orange and lemon rinds clean and freshen it too.

Always run cold water when running it and let the water run a bit after turning it off so you can be sure to have gotten everything past the trap in your drain.

Have never had a problem with anything I've put down my disposal--takes apple, potato, carrot peels just fine. Of course, I don't put celery, lettuce or the bits of cereal left in the breakfast bowl down it. My first one lasted over 20 years. I only buy Insinkerator or KitchenAid brand disposals (same company), and only batch feed. I won't have a continuous feed model.

They don't cost much--DD just replaced hers and I think she paid under $100 for an Insinkerator. Easy to install--anyone moderately handy should be able to do it.

There are so many things you shouldn't put through the garbage disposal, makes you wounder why we have them.

Today for instance, I peeled three bananas, and cracked 3 eggs. Those did not go down the GD. Celery has strings that clog, potato peelings have fibers that do the same. Coffee grounds stick to the sides. Etc,Etc.

I think the prime use of the GD is to clean food scraps from plates before they are washed.

After I grind something, with a lot of hot running water, I put a few drops of Dawn in and let that wash through to help cut down on the grease.

Most clogs can be cleared from the bottom. I bet Alex could do that for you, Kath.

Running small pieces of lemon peel will help keep any odor out.

Good luck with it.

Sue

The only problem I have ever had with ours in 15 years is twice it got clogged with eggshells. I don't put eggshells or any peelings in mine now.

Seventy years ago, people in local cities had milk, bread ... and ice, delivered by small horse-drawn wagons, with ice put into the ice-box and delivery every three or four days, depending on the temperature.

Sixty years ago they began to build refrigerators.

Fifty years ago ... they built refriges that lasted for forty years (or more).

Today (engineers having become so much stupider) the refrigerators that they build last for ten years ...

... according to my story - and others frequently add, "if you're lucky!".

'Nuff said ... about friges.

Are they bulding garbage disposals along the same guidelines?

ole joyful

I have had many disposals in the 45 years we have been married, and most of them were bottom of the line models that came with apartments or tract homes. I would assume you have a bottom of the line unit unless you know you have one of the maker's deluxe models.

With the bottom of the line models, you have to be careful with what you put in them. Nothing stringy like celery, banana peels, broccoli peels, gristle. Nothing requiring strength like bones or corn cobs.

A few years ago, we replaced ours with a kitchen remodel, and this time we have a mid or top of the line disposal. Now I can put more things in it to grind up, but I still stay away from bones.

I remember when my aunt got her fancy one installed in the 1960s, the installer told her to drop a glass Coke bottle down it every now and then to sharpen it. I have certainly never done that either!

I save all my vegetable scraps for the compost pile......so haven't had any problems with my disposal.
Hope you get it fixed without a lot of trouble and expense.

I have always had a disposal until I moved into this house. I am hoping to get one installed this summer.

The more expensive ones do take more, but again stay away from bones, celery etc. I also put the disposer cleaner packs down and do run ice cubes thru. They clean/sharpen the blades--so someone said. I too rinse mine out with Dawn too.

I grind lemon peels in mind to keep it smelling fresh and I use the ice cube trick, too.

Kathy I just went to Consumer Report and read their recommendations and went to Overstock and ordered a Waste King with a limited lifetime warranty. Costs $90. I am a happy camper.