Can we talk about the old school trick for stuck disposal impellers?

I was at a rental property in Phoenix last Tuesday and the tenant said the garbage disposal was humming but not spinning. My first instinct was to pull out the hex key and try to manually turn the flywheel from the bottom. But I forgot my hex key at the shop, you know how it goes. So I tried an old trick my dad taught me back in the 90s. I took a wooden broom handle and shoved it down the drain to gently push the impeller blades around. It worked after three tries, felt the grinding stop and then it freed right up. Saved me a 40 minute drive back to get my tools. Has anyone else used this method or do you all carry spare wrenches now?

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the_phoenix3mo ago

1998 was the first time I saw my uncle do this with a wooden spoon handle on a disposal in his rental in Tucson. I tried it myself last year on an old Insinkerator that was humming and it freed right up after one solid push. The key is to use something soft like bamboo or a paint stirrer so you don't chip the impellers like kelly.daniel mentioned with that butter knife. I always keep a cheap wooden dowel in my van now specifically for this, it's way less risky than metal tools. Only had to replace one disposal in 15 years from this trick, and that one was already cracked from the previous owner jamming a screwdriver in there.

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kelly.daniel3mo ago

Funny you mention that, my old man swore by a butter knife for the same trick, but I always figured a broom handle was safer. Last time I tried that on a stubborn unit, I ended up chipping a blade and had to replace the whole disposal anyway.

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