The spinning blades of a garbage disposal system is responsible for chewing up and breaking down into small pieces allowing it to flow through the drain pipes under the sink. Then again, even the most durable and powerful garbage disposal system is prone to clogging up, especially when tough, sinewy food thrown down. When problems occur, it can cause your disposal to not properly drain which leads to your sink clogging up.

When this kind of problem occurs, your first instinct might be to call for a plumber. But before you do, try to do some measures by yourself. This way, you can avoid spending money for something that can fixed by simply resetting the disposal.

The Possible Causes Why Garbage Disposals Don’t Drain

Before you can fix the problem with your disposal, it’s best to determine what the cause might be. This way, you can gauge whether you really need to call for a plumber or do the work yourself. That said, here’s a look at the common problems for disposals that don’t drain:

A foreign object was dropped into the disposal. Be it a spoon, fork or any other object, your disposal will have a hard time processing that. As such, it can lead to clogs which then cause the system not to drain.
Garbage was fed to the disposal rapidly. Dropping waste without intermission can cause issues for your disposal. So apply the virtue of patience when working the disposal. This way, you won’t run into frequent trouble.
Not enough water was run through the disposal when garbage was being dumped into it. You need to run water through the disposal when throwing waste because it helps flush the drainpipes. Not having sufficient water may cause clogs and therefore lead your disposal to not drain.

The good thing about a disposal that won’t drain is that it can be fixed by yourself alone. But if performing all the steps listed in this article doesn’t solve the issue, you need to call in a plumber to assess the situation. You might be dealing with a problem that’s much worse.

Fixing a Garbage Disposal that Won’t Drain

Before you fix your garbage disposal, make sure you perform some safety precautions, and these include:

Don’t put your bare hands into the garbage disposal unit.
Turn off all the switches and breakers before you start working on your disposal unit.

After making sure you’ve done all the safety precautions, here’s how you can fix your disposal unit that’s not draining:

Make sure that you’ve unplugged the disposal.
Remove everything that’s located under your sink.
Find the garbage disposal then remove the drain line.
Look into the hole to see whether there is an object that is causing the clog.
Find the plumbing line before the “trap.” This is the sideways “T” line which needs to be taken out. Remove it by unscrewing the plumbing.
Take a look inside the “T” to see if there is an object that is jammed or clogged in it.
If there is clogged food inside, use a garden hose to flush the clogged food inside the “T” plumbing. Don’t use your faucet because this will cause a leak.
Put the plumbing lines back into place after you’ve made sure all the clogs have been removed.
Run water in the sink faucet and run the disposal once you have everything back in place. Doing this ensures that there are no clogs and your disposal should function normally.