Garbage Disposal Turns off by Itself | Reasons And Fixes

I’m really frustrated because my garbage disposal keeps turning off by itself before the food is even ground. I finally found out why this happens after watching a helpful YouTube video.

Garbage disposal turns off by itself is a blessing in disguise. A Garbage Disposal Reset Button protects the disposal when burning out due to clogging, overheating, or overloading. You can solve the issue by resetting after clearing clogs and keeping a check-balance on how much food the disposal maintains in one session.

In this article, I will mention several reasons why your disposal turns off by itself. You will learn whether it is harmful or a blessing for disposal. In addition, the description of what could be a better method to manipulate the reset button so that it won’t turn off the device.

Disposal Turns Off By Itself | Reasons

Garbage disposal turns off by itself is a situation to watch out how it is doing. If you do not know why it happens, start your mission to find relatable causes. You must know in what scenarios your disposal unit pauses its grinding. Also, read what I did to my kitchen appliance, dropping it to the verge of repair.

Garbage Disposal Turns off by Itself Reasons

Jamming

The harmful factor which puts your disposal at rest is unbearable jamming. No matter how much you maintain healthy maintenance, an unwanted food item or even the smallest chunk can cause the problem.

Your disposal contains a reset button that immediately pops out by detecting a deliberate clog, jam, or physical obstruction. It can be because you may put unhealthy junk like coffee beans, eggshells, seedlings, water-absorbing food, and cutlery items into it.

Caution: you are not allowed to put grease, oils, or fats in the disposal for lubrication, for they make the blades dull, contribute to clogs, and reduce disposal grinding capacity.

Motor Overloading

Garbage disposal handles an appropriate amount of food at once. You cannot randomly put everything into it, venting all your dishes. If you do so, there must be the risk that the grinding chamber overheats.

Moreover, What happens if you put too much food in the disposal? It causes the disposal to chop a large portion instead of attending less at once. Not only has its efficiency decreased but also contributed to damage beyond repair.

Overheating

You all may know the answer to when does machine starts overheating and why. Don’t you? disposal overheats when the motor puts a lot of effort into rotating the impellers for food processing.

Stepping ahead, why it has to work harder because of the possibility of stuffing more than it can handle, the last session food is not being washed away, or blockage. Furthermore, overloading triggers overheating. So, avoid it from the start.

What to Do if Disposal Turns Off?

Garbage disposal won’t turn off; there must be a back story that you may miss including. To find the correct solution to fix the problem, you must observe its functioning and make notes when it halts and to what specifications. For example, if it halts due to clogging, clear it. Or if it overheats, refrain from overloading it.

What to Do if Garbage Disposal Turns Off

Method 1

Since you need to know what pauses your disposal, look for the clogs as the initial treatment. You will be happy reading that clearing clogs is simple and can be performed using household equipment.

What to Do if Garbage Disposal Turns Off?

Can you use an Allen wrench to unjam a disposal? Allen wrench comes in handy when you deal with hard-to-reach clogging agents. Also, it is an activity to be attentive to, for it dislodges stuck particles from the flywheel.

Your first step must be inserting the Allen wrench into the hole beneath the disposal. Turn it in either direction, moving the flywheel. Remove what has been stuck inside the disposal once you loosen the shaft.

Method 2

Clearing jammed disposal is practical, but fixing disposal overloading and overheating problems demands your focused mind. To say to be conscious of what you put inside the disposal and in what manner is crucial. Follow the precautions to restrict your disposal from overheating and keep the reset button going with the flow in good health.

fix the disposal

How Long does it take for the disposal to reset?

The disposal reset button protrudes and shuts the device automatically. You must let the machine and the electrical motor cool down for 10-15 minutes and try resetting again. The only restriction is to notice the button will remain in the stay-in position when you press it. Otherwise, it won’t let your machine turn on or reset.

Will unplugging a disposal reset it?

You can experiment with reset button of the disposal by unplugging it when it denies turning on. All you have to do is to disconnect the power cord, followed by a main wall outlet, and turn off the circuit breaker.

Summing Up