What to do with a clogged sink, garbage disposal not working and dishwasher flooding?

Question

Help! I have a dual kitchen sink with a garbage disposal. Recently the garbage disposal stopped working and now the sink won't drain on the disposal side. The other side drains fine but the dishwasher will not drain either! The garbage disposal won't even turn on anymore. We stuck our hands in there and pulled out broken glass (grrrr at whoever put broken glass in my sink and let it go down the drain!). I really can't afford a plumber and needless to say, I have no idea what to do and where to start. Is there a simple troubleshooting way to begin to figure out the problem that can be used by someone as clueless as me? By the way, I really don't know if I would be able to manage taking anything apart...maybe there is an easy way that someone can let me know about? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

VERY EASY TO FIX
Pending on your unit ( more then likely its a ISE disposal )
Under then unit in the middle there is a hole for a alan wrench (you ahould have recived 1 with the unit)
1st Unplug unit
2nd insert alan wrench and turn back and forth (counter clock wise and so on) this makes the motor and blades move to free the jam up.
3rd plug unit in and see if it works.
4th If unit seems to have no power under the unit there is a reset switch RED BUTTON push it in to reset the power.
The reason your water is stopped up is the unit is blocked up with glass and food and the dishwasher is hooked to the unit so it wont drain either.
(( You can try this be carefull ))
unplug unit!!!!!!
get a flashlight and a wet/dry vac Look in unit and try to pull glass out with pliers or a long needel nose ply- then use vac to suck up food and small bits of glass.
BUT if the glass is wedged between the blades and wall of the unit you will need to use a alan wrench (2bucks at local hardware store)
If you have any problems e-mail me or add me to messenger And I would be glad to help you out.
This would take me 5min to fix But I have been doing plumbing for yrs and yrs. But dont fear this is something you can do yourself also!!

[e-mail] E-Mail
kos101 Mesenger

Answer 2

You might have two problems. A plugged line and a broken garbage disposal. Unplug the garbage disposal under the sink. Now make sure you can freely move the teeth on the garbage disposal. It will not move if something is jammed in there, removing the rubber thingy in the drain helps to see better. I think on the disposal itself there is a re-set button, you can press this and plug it back in and see what happens. It may have burned up after being jammed, in which case you need a new one. Installing one isn't real difficult, but still a challenge. If the dishwasher won't drain and the garbage disposa side won't either you have a clog somewhere. Do you have a clean-out drain? it should be outside near the kitchen outside walls . It would be a 3 or 4 ": pipe with a cap on it and a square thing to put a wrench on it. Turn it counter clockwise and remove it. be aware that it may gush whatever is in there out. If the water is standing in there you need to put a snake down there and loosen up the clog. If this clean-out has nothing in it then your clog is somewhere between the disposal, the dishwasher and the cleanout. You can also try and put the snake in the already draining side I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Garbage Disposal Clogged

Answer 4

The reason the dishwasher is flooding is because it drains into the disposal.

If you have a wet/dry vac, you can use the nozzle to suck the debris out of the disposal. If not, UNPLUG THE DISPOSAL underneath the sink, cover your hand with dish soap so it doesn't get stuck, reach in and CAREFULLY remove any debris.

More than likely, the disposal breaker has been tripped. This is a small red square button on the bottom that needs to be pushed in. If it still doesn't work, there is a hex drive (looks like a pentagon) on the very bottom of the disposal that needs to be turned to help remove any additional debris. Plumbers usually leave one somewhere under the sink. If there is not one, use a broom or plunger handle to turn the disposal from the TOP. Simply insert the handle, move it to the edge and try to turn the cutters.

If you reach in the disposal with broken glass, please be careful. A hospital bill will be MUCH more than a plumber.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

I,m not a plumber I,m an auto mechanic by trade but I would have to think that you have a clog on the side of the sink with the disposal. Remove the drain pipe on that side if you can and clean out whatever is obstructing it probably the broken glass and whatever has lodged around it. Or maybe just lower the disposal unit and look inside there and see if you can clean it out that way. Someones gonna come along that knows a lot more about this than me so good luck.

Answer 6

Here's the first thing you should try. Get a piece of wood about 1 1/2" wide and put it down your disposal and try to work the disposal head back and forth to break it free of the jamb caused by the glass. If you get it to rotate, take the wood out and try running the disposal. Repeat this until you no longer jamb the disposal. Hopefully this will clear your problem. If it doesn't, then to fix your problem, your going to have to take your garbage disposal off. This is not really as hard as it sounds, but you'll also need to detach the drain pipe from the dish washer, and the sewer connection. Be sure to have a bucket to catch any water you have left in the sink/disposal and washer. When you have it apart, you can take the disposal to the trash can and empty as much glass out of it as possible. Snake your drain line to be sure it is clear before you put things back together. Repeat the wood trick described above if necessary. If this fails, I'd call a plumber.

Answer 7

Underneath the garbage disposal, there should be a hole for an allen wrench to fit it. You may have one already because it should have come with the disposal. If not, you can buy a set at a local hardware store. The allen wrench should fit nicely into the hole, once you do that turn it manually. Remove the allen wrench and then try the disposal like you normally would.

Sounds like you have a clog in the disposal. My dishwasher dispenses through the disposal. I imagine you might be set up the same.

Answer 8

You don't need to trouble shoot this thing. You have a bad disposal. You need to replace it, not fix it.

You have basically two choices.

You can get a new disposal. They don't cost that much and replacing them is fairly straightforward. I would not try to fix the old one.

Or you can simply replace the disposal with a straight pipe. Your dishwasher drains into the disposal. You will need to have a pipe that has an access for the dishwasher drain.

Both are things that can be done by a halfway mechanically-minded homeowner.

It sounds like your disposal is toast. I would not bother trying to fix it, as a new one will probably be cheaper.

You don't say if you have a husband or boyfriend, but anyone who can use simple tools and follow directions should be able to do this, even someone who describes herself as clueless.

Answer 9

Dishwasher Not Working

Answer 10

Kos is right,

I would only add that glass can be a real pain in a disposal.
One time I had a customer who had a basket with glass beads in it and a couple got in the disposal and crunched up pretty good.
It may take a few tries to get all of it out.