How to Remove a Garbage Disposal the Right Way

The garbage disposal is located under the sink. Typically, you will have a split sink where one drain connects directly to the water line running out of the kitchen. The other drain will run into the garbage disposal and then connect to the line running out of the kitchen. If you have a dishwasher, it will connect to the garbage disposal as well.

The garbage disposal is a circular appliance a little smaller than a square foot (although there are different models, so some garbage disposals will be bigger and others will be smaller). The disposal has a series of spinning blades on the bottom of the device. These blades are similar to those of a coffee grinder. When you run the disposal, the blades will spin and chop up whatever is put down the disposal. This is used to help chop up food waste you will not be using.

By chopping up the food waste, the garbage disposal helps keep material out of the trash. This not only reduces the debris that ends up in a landfill but it also helps prevent your kitchen from smelling. If you didn't have a garbage disposal, the food particles would end up sitting in the trash for days, causing the degrading food's odor to linger throughout the 

house.

Extend the Life of Your Garbage Disposal

While you're looking at how to remove a garbage disposal, you may be doing so because the current disposal has failed you. While all appliances have a life expectancy, it is possible to extend the life of your new garbage disposal by taking care of it properly.

First, there are a number of objects you need to avoid putting down the drain. Coffee grinds are one of the most common. While these small particles may not seem like much, the grinds stick under the blades, preventing them from running. Avoid putting coffee grinds down the garbage disposal whenever possible.

You will also want to avoid putting egg shells down the disposal. Similar to the coffee grinds, the egg shells will stick under the blades and corrode.

Beyond the smaller items, you shouldn't put anything down that is difficult to cut, such as chicken bones. You should also avoid putting down any kind of carb-heavy objects, such as rice or pasta. These objects will sit in the disposal and in your drain, absorbing water. This will force the grain to expand, which increases the chance of causing a blockage in the drain.

Lastly, you should never put any kind of flour down the drain. Flour mixed with water basically becomes a glue, which is terrible for the garbage disposal. By not putting these food items down the drain and always running the disposal with the water running, you will extend the life of the disposal.

Beyond the pan you only really need a flat head screwdriver and a Phillips screwdriver. You can wear safety glasses and gloves if you'd like, but you're not working with electricity or anything sharp, so those items are not necessary. You should have some towels on hand, just in case. If you've recently poured drain cleaner down the garbage disposal (because of a clog) you'll want to open nearby windows so fumes from the cleaner's chemicals do not linger (often these chemicals have a heavy dose of bleach).

Now you have everything on hand you need you are ready to begin the steps for how to remove a garbage disposal.

The garbage disposal requires some additional steps to remove when compared to other appliances in the kitchen. However, it is lightweight and easy to do as long as you follow these steps. Once you have gone through these pointers on how to remove a garbage disposal, you will remove the device, no matter the make or age of the appliance.