How to remove a garbage disposal snap ring

If you see nothing obvious, insert the wrench into the motor spline, found at the bottom of the unit, and twist right and left. Remove any obstruction with needle-nose pliers. Use a flashlight to check for foreign objects lodged in the perimeter openings of the drum. Jamming is so common that every disposer comes with a wrench and an on-board circuit breaker, so don't assume your disposer has failed simply because it stops working. Disposers can be stopped in their tracks by celery, eggshells and apple seeds, as well as the usual kitchen flotsam, including pop-tabs, scouring pads and twist-ties. Soft or crisp foods are fine, but hard or stringy foods can be trouble. The list of things a food disposer can consume is fairly short.

Before you buy, though, it pays to check out your old unit to make sure it's not simply jammed. Finally, retail outlets sell good disposers for every household budget. With today's plastic waste kits, leaks are seldom a problem and the electrical connections are similarly quick and easy. If this sounds familiar, you'll be happy to know that replacing a disposer is really fairly simple. And finally, failed disposers don't often leak, at least not in the beginning, so it's easy to put things off.

Then there are the hassles of comparison shopping and the suspicion that the job could run into real money. There's the usual trepidation about electricity and water, the unfamiliar sink connection and enough drain fittings to make leaks a real possibility. Replacing a failed garbage disposer can seem daunting.

How to remove a garbage disposal snap ring