What it usually means
| It hums and does not turn | Something is wedged between the grinding plate and the ring: a bone, a fruit pit, a bottle cap, a piece of cutlery. |
|---|---|
| It does nothing at all | The overload has tripped. There is a red reset button on the underside of the unit. |
| It runs, and water stays in the sink | The garburator is working. The trap or the line past it is blocked with ground-up food and grease. |
| Water comes up in the other bowl | Same thing. The blockage is past the point where the two bowls join. |
| It leaks from the bottom | The internal seal has gone. That is a replacement, not a repair. |
How to free a jam safely
- Switch it off at the wall and unplug it under the sink. Never put a hand in the chamber.
- Find the hex socket in the centre of the underside. Fit the small Allen key that came with the unit, or a 1/4-inch hex key, and work it back and forth until it turns freely.
- Look in with a flashlight and lift out whatever was jamming it with tongs or pliers.
- Press the red reset button on the bottom, plug it back in, run cold water and switch it on.
- If it runs and the sink still will not drain, the problem is the pipe. See kitchen sink will not drain.
Stop and call a plumber if
- It trips the reset again as soon as it starts
- Water is dripping from the body of the unit
- It runs but the sink will not empty
- You have poured drain cleaner into it. Tell us when you book
Call 1-800-604-0631, any hour.
What fixing it costs
Clearing a blocked garburator line is a flat price: from $299. What a garburator clog costs and why. Those are regular-hours prices (9 to 5, Monday to Friday). Outside those hours every price is double. Each covers up to 2 hours on site, and the drain is tested in front of you before we leave.
If the unit itself has failed, see garburator installation. Most residential units last eight to fifteen years depending on use.
Questions people ask
What should never go in a garburator?
Grease and oil, coffee grounds, eggshells, rice and pasta, potato peels, fibrous vegetables like celery, and bones. Most of what blocks the pipe went through the garburator first.
Should I run hot or cold water?
Cold. It keeps fat solid so it is chopped and carried away. Hot water melts it and it sets again further down the pipe.
Is it worth repairing an old one?
Rarely. Once the seal leaks or the motor is failing, a new unit costs less than the labour to rebuild the old one.