Where, oh where, did I go wrong in raising these children?

LS is living at home, having finished college in the spring. He brought with him all of his worldly possessions. This includes a beta, which is a solitary fish named Johann Sebastian.

Yesterday, LS cleaned out Johann Sebastian's small aquarium.

When I came home from work, the kitchen drain was draining slowly. I turned on the garbage disposer. There was a "chunk" sound, and then just a low buzz. I turned it off and stuck my hand in to investigate.

I pulled out a handful of gravel.

Yup, LS poured aquarium water down the kitchen sink and was somehow unaware that *you can't put rocks down a garbage disposer!*

Does anyone know whether there is any way to fix this short of calling a plumber or putting in a new disposer? This one is very old (20+ years?), so maybe just get a new one?

Cindy -- who thinks the next parenting lesson needs to be "When you make a mistake and destroy something in someone's home, you need to offer to pay for it"

There may be rocks in the trap. That should be removed and checked also.
You could try picking the rocks out or LS may be the best person to do that.
Steve may have a better answer.

You could try a vacuum cleaner, but you'll probably have to change the disposer and clean out the trap.

Often the chunks get stuck in the blades. Most machines have a reset button and a way to manually reverse the system to get the chunk out (usually with an Allen wrench of some sort).

Having replaced my disposer twice, I offer the following advice (standard disclaimer: damages arising from your use of this advice are strictly limited to what you paid for it):

Replace the disposer. They are not hard to do. In fact, have LS replace the disposer.

You will have to locate the circuit breaker, open it, and make sure no one tries to close it while he is working. Do the wiring EXACTLY as the instructions that come with the disposer show. If it is a wire-to-wire connection, use the wirenuts that come with it. Clean the exposed ends of the existing wiring with very fine sandpaper before making the connections.

Like Chas suggested, pull out the trap and clean it out. This builds character. There may be all kinds of gunk in there, as well as the rocks.

Buy the most expensive disposer you can afford. I bought a cheap, underpowered one. It died. That's why I replaced it a second time. If you get the same brand that's in there, the installation may be easier -- he may be able to just attach it to the existing collar in the sink. I have had good luck with the Badger brand.

I suggest the Readers Digest and Sunset books on home plumbing. Your local public library probably has copies.

Maybe cheaper in the long run to replace LS?

I'm sure your child is perfect.

I blame Johann Sebastian.

As an aside, many municipalities have banned disposers in new construction and major kitchen remodels. They are trying to cut down on the organic matter that goes into the wastewater treatment system.

Do you really need a disposer?

Buy the best you can afford. That's my advice.

But it may be possible to salvage the current one, by groping around underneath the disposal itself and looking for a gizmo in the center of the container that will receive an Allen wrench--p*d's suggestion.

Clean out the disposal as much as is humanly possible. Do NOT run it yet. Grab an Allen wrench and use it to wiggle the blades around (that's what you're actually doing). You'll hear grinding, which is loosening other rocks. Clean rocks again. Rinse, repeat until you're pretty sure there are no more rocks lodged in the blades or container area. Finally, run water for a long time--maybe 3-4 minutes--to clear out any residual. Then clean the trap. As pj suggested, it builds character.

Put it all back together, turn on and (hopefully) it will run with no rocks left. It will never be as good as before, though, because the rocks undoubtedly damaged the blades.

So yeah, maybe better to buy a new one. But only after you make LS perform the machinations above.

What I would have done 20 years ago:

Open the circuit breaker and make sure no one closes it while you are working.

Disconnect the plumbing downstream of the disposer. Remove all of the pipe up to the piece coming out of the wall. Clean all the gunk and pebbles out of the pipe. Like soak it in ammonia and wash it in hot water (again, this builds character).

Dismount the disposer from the sink. There is probably just one big ring with three bolts that hold the top of the disposer to threaded ring and collar in the bottom of the sink. Or maybe a locking ring. Just stare at it for a few minutes and start gently tugging on stuff until something comes loose.

At this point the disposer is attached only by the wires. Don't attempt to disconnect the wires, but be very careful not to pull on them or twist them. There is probably a clamp holding the outer insulation onto the body of the disposer. Look at how it looks before you start and make sure it looks the same when you are done.

Run a hose in from the nearest faucet or bib. Get a 5 gallon bucket. Put down a bunch of old bath towels. Put down twice as many towels as you think you should, then have a couple more on hand.

Turn the disposer upside-down into the bucket.

Run water from the hose into the outlet of the disposer. Flush out everything that's in there.

Turn the disposer right side up. Look into the blade area with a flashlight. See anything? Remove it. Use your fingers, a chopstick, or whatever will dislodge the offending material. Now use the allen wrench in the hole at the bottom to turn the shaft back and forth. This may dislodge more stuff. Pick it out. Rinse it out. Maybe heat some water to 120F or so or fill a pitcher from the hot water tap in the bathroom. Pour the hot water through the disposer one direction or the other to clean out any remaining gunk.

Now, use the allen key to turn the shaft all the way in each direction several turns. How does it feel? If it is turning smoothly, no grunching sounds, no spots where it hangs up, and all seems to be good, put it back together, declare victory, and continue to use the disposer until the next mishap.

YMMV.

At 20+ years old, perhaps the disposer is due for a replacement anyway.

As for the new disposer, I recommend the Insinkerator Evolution Excel. That's the most powerful and the quietest I ever used. I have been using one for almost a decade and still a happy customer.

So? Is Chez Sphinx disposing again?

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:
As an aside, many municipalities have banned disposers in new construction and major kitchen remodels. They are trying to cut down on the organic matter that goes into the wastewater treatment system.

Do you really need a disposer?

No!?!

And here all these years I've been figuring I was growing a special halo for all the effort I've made putting everything disposer-processable down the disposer.

Why? Precisely because I was reducing organic waste in landfills and increasing the compost our municipality makes from sewage (much processing).

Is this all a myth?

And I was so relieved to find out the “chunk” noise wasn’t the fish.

A friend of mine (in her 60's) owns a business and she posted the most hilarious FB story of a new gen X employee..

She had to teach her to use a landline phone and how to print and post a real life letter..with a stamp and all!