Broken plastic in disposal

[AdrienneB2]

I accidentally got a small piece of plastic from a baby bottle cap in my garbage disposal and part of it was broken off. My disposal now makes a loud grinding noise when I turn it on. It was very quiet before. I have checked and can see no visible plastic. Could a piece have gone into the inner parts of the disposal and if so, how can I get it out?

[kok328]

There is no "inner part" of the disposal.

It works based on centrifigual force. The disposal spins, forcing food particles against the disposal walls. The cutter blades then chop/grind everything into small particles that are able to go down the drain without clogging it.

You may have a piece of plastic stuck between the spinning base and the disposal walls. This would effectively put your spinning base off center and cause it to scrap against the adjacent walls (I think that's the sound your hearing).

You can dismantle the entire disposal for inspection, just be sure to reseal the throat to the motor housing to avoid leaks.

[richapplyguy]

Another way to fix it is to remove disposal,take the right size allen wrench and turn the motor counterclockwise while holding the disposal upside down, the particle should drop out. If not you may have to remove the top part, usually four mounting screws, newer ones have special torque screws.

[AdrienneB2]

Thanks for the information. I've printed out your suggestions and my husband is going to try to get the plastic fragment out. Thanks again.

[mercury]

before you take apart disposal, try putting a cup full of ice cubes in it and run it as you normally would. Try a couple times it may knock the stuck plastic out. Nothing to loose and could save you a lot of time.