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Broken Glass in Garbage Disposal

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Melbourne Plumber

If you have lived in a house or apartment with a garbage disposal for any length of time, chances are you have had a glass or dish break in the sink. If this has happened to you for the first time and you found this article because you don’t know what to do, we are glad to help.

The first thing you need to do is to not panic. The solution to this problem may be much easier than you anticipated. Check out our steps below to removing glass from your garbage disposal.

What you will need:

1. Needle nose pliers
2. Thick rubber gloves
3. Shop vac
4. Hex key

Steps to Remove the Glass

1. Unplug garbage disposal. You don’t want to work on something that has an electrical current running through it. If you cannot unplug it then turn off power at the breaker.
2. Put on Your Rubber Gloves. These will protect you from the glass.
3. Remove Larger Pieces of Glass with Your Pliers. You want to get as much as you can out this way.
4. Vacuum Out the Rest of the Glass Debris. This should get almost all of the rest of the remining glass. Having a shop vac around your house is something we recommend to everyone. You can buy one for fifty bucks and it will get you out a lot of jams.
5. Use Hex Key to Turn the Blades. This step makes sure that the blades are free from obstruction.
6. Restore Power to the Disposal. Now run some water into the disposal and turn on the unit. It should work fine now.

Call a Plumber

If you cannot fix your problem with the steps listed above then it is probably a good idea to call your local plumber. They will help you get things working the way they were before. This can usually be done in under an hour.