GE Garbage Disposal Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Your GE Garbage Disposal

Your garbage disposal is naturally noisy, particularly when grinding bones and fruit pits. However, when you notice something off with the sound, something might have slipped into the unit without you noticing. Be it silverware, a bottle cap or any other foreign object, you will hear loud noises when these fall into the disposer.

To check whether the loud noise you’re hearing was really caused by a foreign object falling into the unit, follow these steps:

There are two possible reasons for this happening: either the reset button has been tripped or the turntable cannot rotate. Here’s how you fix the problem when you encounter either issue:

If the reset button has been tripped, do the following:

In case the reset button has not been tripped, do the following:

Check for a shorted or broken wire connecting to the disposer. Check everything – the electrical power switch, the fuse box or the circuit breaker. After checking all these and concluding that no wiring and electrical components are shorted or broken, your disposal unit may have internal problems that can only be remedied by service or having parts replaced.

If the turntable isn’t able to rotate, do the following:

But if you find that there is no object present, then your unit must have some internal problems. You can call for professionals to come and check your unit and they can advice you on what needs to be done to get it fixed.

If the leak is at the top, here are the possible causes:

In case the leak is at the discharge elbow, it may be caused by the improper tightening of elbow flange screws. Try to tighten the screws again and see if the problem still persists. If it does, call for assistance.

Avoiding GE Garbage Disposal Problems

Problems are unavoidable, particularly when it comes to devices. But you can always minimize the trouble by caring for your unit and making sure you’re operating it according to instructions. All that said, here’s how you can avoid issues with your GE garbage disposal unit:

Make sure the disposer is empty before you use the dishwasher. Doing this ensures that the unit can drain properly.

Leave the stopper in the drain when it’s not in use. Practicing this avoids any foreign objects from accidentally falling into the disposer.

Know which items you can throw into your disposer. GE builds their products to give you many years of service (trouble-free service even). And while GE garbage disposal units can handle normal food wastes, there are some items you shouldn’t dump in the unit and these include:

All the items listed above are considered waste materials and they should be thrown in the trash can or a trash compactor.

The motor of a GE garbage disposer is lubricated for life. As such, you shouldn’t attempt to lubricate your disposer. In addition, a GE disposer is self cleaning and will scour itself with every use. All that said, here are more ways to maintain and care for your unit: