My Garbage Disposal Got Glass In It. What Do I Do?

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9 Answers

Rena Chisholm Profile
Rena Chisholm answered
Use a long nosed pair of Needle Nosed plyers to remove the glass. Don't worry about the tiny pieces, they will go on through and out of the pipes.
 If there is a piece jammed in and stuck, take the plyers and snip on the glass to break it loose.
 Then open the cabinet door and look underneath the disposal. You will most likely see a Re-set button, which trips whenever something gets caught in the disposal. It is designed this way to keep you from burning up the motor.
Just push the button and you should be back in business.
Steven Vakula Profile
Steven Vakula answered
I just had a similar experience recently with a Badger disposal. I disconnected the disposal and turned I upside down and shook out the glass I could. Then I took a pry-bar and used it to unblock the small pieces of glass that were responsible for the jam. In hind-sight I could have have used a vacuum without disconnecting the disposal to suck out the loose pieces and then applied the same unjamming method with the pry-bar I believe. Once I did the above and reconnected the disposal it works like new! Good luck!
David Spector Profile
David Spector answered
The first step is to remove all the glass. Remove large pieces using rubber gloves. Next, use a piece of clay or putty, pressing against the inside of the disposer, to remove the small pieces.

When the disposer is free of glass, look under the sink at the bottom of the disposer. If there is a hole, insert a hexagonal wrench and turn back and forth until the wrench rotates freely. Flush with lots of water.
Kate Nielsen Profile
Kate Nielsen answered
I had the same problem with my InSinkerator disposal!  First and foremost, make sure you disconnect power to the disposal so there is absolutely no way that it could be turned on while you are trying to remove the glass (you should be able to do that beneath the sink).  Use pliers to remove the big pieces.  Try to avoid taking them out by hand but if you must, put on thick gloves to avoid cutting yourself.  Then, try using a vacuum hose to suck up the rest of the glass.  What you don't remove by then should be small enough to just rinse down.  Good luck!
Lisa Marie Halsey Muniz Profile
If glass is in it don't try to put your hand down there to fix it.  You may have to remove the pipes and the disposal to get it out.  If you don't get a good answer here, and you don't know how to do that, I would call a plumber.  Stay safe and good luck.
Eknor's Maid Profile
Eknor's Maid , www.eknorsmaid.com, answered

I had the same problem with my Insinkerator disposal!  First and foremost, make sure you disconnect power to the disposal so there is absolutely no way that it could be turned on while you are trying to remove the glass (you should be able to do that beneath the sink).  Use pliers to remove the big pieces.  Try to avoid taking them out by hand but if you must, put on thick gloves to avoid cutting yourself.  Then, try using a vacuum hose to suck up the rest of the glass.  What you don't remove by then should be small enough to just rinse down.  Good luck!

Eknor's Maids


Maid Service Profile
Maid Service answered
Long nose attachment from your vacuum, just make sure there isn't a lot of water in the sink or else it will ruin a normal vac.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
A vacuum could get the small pieces out.  Reach into the hole with some sort of strong glove to get the big chunks out.

Erica
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