garbage disposal

[su]

got the blade of a cheese spreader stuck under my garbage disposal blade. too stuck to pull it out....tried repetively. the blade spins without a problem. but, obviously makes an unuusal noise. any other way to get it out?

[LazyPup]

No doubt the part the cheese spreader is stuck under is one of the two slingers on the top of the disposal rotor. As food waste is fed into the disposal the slingers literally sling the material outward against the inner wall of the disposal body where it is then drawn down between the disposal body and the outer circumference of the rotor, which has groves and ridges that act as a grinders. The water and ground food waste is then slung forcibly into the discharge tube and out through the drain line in a pumping action.

The slingers are attached to the rotor by a factory pressed in rivet and cannot be dissassembled. When new the slingers will rotate freely around the rivet, but as the disposals age often bits of food waste get caught under the slingers, or the slingers and rivet corrode until they will no longer rotate freely.

Whenever something such as your cheese spreader or a steak knife blade get caught under a slinger it is often wedge is extremely tight so that it is very difficult to remove. Efforts to remove it are also hampered by the close clearance of working through the rubber flappers and the rotor freely turning while attempting to remove the object.

While the cheese spreader blade may seem to be very light weight, when the rotor is spinning it is enough to cause a severe imbalance and excessive vibration in much the same manner as an automobile tire that is out of balance can shake your entire vehicle.

While getting the object out may prove to be very difficult, in most instances it is not impossible. Hopefully your cheese spreader will have at least one edge turned upward that you could gripe with a pair of needle nose pliers. (I prefer a pair of miniature needle nose Vise Grip locking pliers). Once you have a firm grip on the object with the pliers you may be able to wedge it out by using a pry bar to pry the pliers sideways away from the slinger.

You may need to have someone help you by holding the rotor steady with a disposal wrench from the bottom of the disposal.

If that doesnt work, try loosening the slinger with a good grade of penetrating oil. (WD-40 does not work well for this application) Most appliance parts stores or HVAC supply houses carry a small 4 ounce bottle of a product called "Rust Buster" which works very well.

Liberally apply the penetrating oil, let is soak in about an hour and repeat the application. You should then be able to have someone hold the rotor steady with a disposal wrench while you use a pry bar to try to rotate the slinger. (A wooden sink plunger handle usually works well as a pry bar.)

If it still will not move, apply more penetrating oil and let it soak overnite.

In a worst case scenario you may have to pull the disposal, place it on a workbench and remove the rubber flapper to get better access.