Top 2 Signs Your Garburator May Be Clogged

A garburator is an essential kitchen appliance. Every modern household has a garbage disposal. Experts detail that a standard kitchen garburator can last up to 12 years.

With proper care and maintenance, you can even make it last longer. Proper care means cleaning it regularly and not dumping everything in it.

If you don’t maintain your garbage disposal, it won’t be able to last very long, and it will cost up to $700 to replace.

If you don’t take good care of your garburator, it will get clogged and lead to premature failure. Hence to avoid premature failure, you should call a certified residential plumber ASAP to fix your clogged garbage disposal.

Also Read: How Does A Garburator Work?

If the clogs are left untreated, it will lead to the early demise of the garburator’s shredders, motor and other key components.

Now the question arises how do you tell if your garbage disposal is clogged or not? Keep on reading this blog as we will answer this question in detail.

Your Garburator Is Making Loud Noises

If your garburator is not working, a clog must be the culprit, even if there is power. The clogging of a garburator often comes with loud noises such as a grinding or humming sound.

Here are a few sounds that are an indicator that your garbage disposal is clogged:

Clanking Sound

This is a sound that you might hear mostly when the garburator starts. After a few seconds, both the noise and your garburator will stop. So this is a strong indication that you have clogged your garbage disposal system.

If you have the right tools and knowledge, you can unclog the garburator yourself, but before doing it, make sure to turn off the power.

However, it is always better to call a certified residential plumber, as they are trained and know how to fix such problems professionally in just a few minutes.

Humming Sound

When you turn it on, the humming sound is a sure sign that you have a clogged garburator. You might feel that it is vibrating within the sink, but actually, it is the shredder that isn’t turning around.

If this happens, just turn off your garbage disposal right away, as letting it run can break the blade or even burn out the motor. The motor might burn because it is still receiving power and is sending it to the blades, but since the blades can’t move due to the clog, the excess power will overheat the motor.

When large and huge items are pushed down the garburator, it gets clogged. Bones and fruit pits are the most common culprits of clogged garbage disposal, so don’t put these in the sink.

Hence, if you hear a humming sound, call a certified residential plumber and get it fixed as soon as possible.

Your Garburator Emits A Bad Smell

A smelly sink often results from clogs in a garburator or food stuck in the grinding chamber.

The longer you leave your food in your garbage disposal, the more bacteria will produce in the garburator. It won’t be long before you start to smell bad odours from your sink, and your entire kitchen will smell like sewage.

These foul smells are an indication that your garbage disposal is clogged. If your garburator is taking a long time to dispose of food, then there is something in it that you need to get rid of. However, this is also an indication that you need to call a professional plumber to clear your clogged drain lines.

If the bad smell is coming from the water disposal, the issue might be with the garburator’s drain. So in order to fix this issue, you will have to call a certified drain cleaner.

About Jack’d Up Plumbing

At Jack’d Up Plumbing, we provide plumbing services to our clients in Calgary & the surrounding area. We specialise in drain cleaning and other plumbing-related services such as water and gas leak repair, bathroom and kitchen plumbing repairs and installations, water heater and furnace repair/instals, and more. Contact us for further information and support.