I’m the original owner of my house, which is now about 15 years old. The garbage disposal has been run only about ten or 15 seconds a week during that time, and never for anything hard (I just run it for five seconds or so every few days when the sink starts draining slowly enough to fill up the disposal with water, and it slurps down the water and the sink runs fast again). No bones, really not much of anything, probably rinsing out my oatmeal bowl is the biggest contributor to slow draining. (Sorry ladies, he’s attached).
Anyway, today when I flipped the switch, I heard it humming, but it didn’t seem to move at all. After the water drains out of it, and I look down in it with a flashlight, it looks completely empty. Again, I can’t see anything move when I turn on the switch, but I can hear it hum, so it’s getting power.
I can’t find a manual for it, I’m not sure if I ever had one, and the brand name is not visible on the outside. If it’s important, I can try to crawl under the sink and see if there’s a brand or model number on the back, but I thought I’d try for some generic answers first.
There’s a little tool taped to it, an elongated s-shaped hex wrench.
So, my stupid questions —
– What’s the wrench for? Should I put a bucket under the disposal and take off the bottom, or am I supposed to stick it down the drain and detach something from the inside?
– Could I have gummed it up by not using it enough? I know some people who run ice or coffee grounds or whatever through theirs, but I figured if it wasn’t broke, don’t fix it. But now it’s broke, and I can’t run anything through it till I fix it.
Any recommendations or advice welcome. I’m not Mr. Handyman, but I’m not a total klutz, so if it’s reasonably do-it-yourself, I’m up for it.
Thanks for any responses.
(assuming my husband hasn’t). I’m very non-mechanical.