Asked on Aug 23, 2017

I dropped a spoon in my garbage disposal while it was running. Help!

  9 answers
  • Sharon Sharon on Aug 24, 2017

    what is the rest of your question? if it stopped working press the red reset button on the bottom and turn it on. if that doesn't work your unit came with an angled allen wrench that fits in the hole in the bottom, and turn it 360 degrees. Turn it on. Repeat til it comes back on.

    • Toolpro Toolpro on Aug 24, 2017

      take the spoon out first...... if it is bent and valuable it can be straightened out and the dings buffed out.

  • Sissy Duck Sissy Duck on Aug 24, 2017

    Take your rubber cover off & wiggle spoon as much as you can & turn on disposal & continue to do this until it loosens it may take several times but it will come out I have had this happen several times 😫Very aggravating but it can be done just be careful "do not place any other object including your hand into disposal while in the on mode" as it will not move until the spoon is loosened it will be quite & easy to confuse as being OFF!😁


  • 17335038 17335038 on Aug 24, 2017

    If your disposal unit is hard-wired, go to your electrical panel and turn off the control lever that connects to the garbage disposal. (It may also turn off the power to some othe parts of the kitchen, but that's O.K. ) Do not under any circumstances try to put your fingers or anything else down to retrieve the spoon before you are certain that the electrical power is off, as although the On-Off switch may be off, the motion of something pushing against the blades may be enought to start it up again.


    If your disposal is plug-in then, follow the plug and unplug it first before attempting to retrieve the spoon.


    Once you are sure the power is off, if the spoon is still stuck then use a long narrow needle nose pliers to grab onto the spoon, wriggle it and pull it out. You may have to bend the end of the spoon back and forth a few times and actually break it into two parts to get the whole thing out.


    Once you think you have all parts of the spoon out, switch the power back on, and run the disposal with ample water just to make sure all bits are out before again using it normally.


    Yes, it happens.

  • RC Leach RC Leach on Aug 24, 2017

    Most disposals are not hard wired. They almost all come from the factory with a plug on the end of the wire, so you can just unplug them below the sink. But, FOR SURE, either unplug it, or go to the breaker and turn off all power to the disposal, before you even start. I don't recommend breaking the spoon into two pieces, because breaking off part of it does not change the fact that the other part is still stuck! All you have accomplished, is that you now have a smaller part to grip with your pliers or channel locks; whatever you're using to grip the spoon. Try wiggling it back and forth while pulling, and if that fails, try using a socket wrench with extension on the nut in the center of the disposal, to wiggle the disposal back and forth, while pulling with the other hand, or use an Allen wrench on the Allen bolt on the bottom center of the disposal, to wiggle it back and forth while pulling on the spoon. This may require extra long arms, or 3 hands. If you have neither, get someone to help you. I don't recommend turning it on and off while pulling on whatever is lodged in it, because it has 3/4 horsepower. That's enough to do serious damage to your hand and/or arm.

  • Nancy Jafar Nancy Jafar on Aug 24, 2017

    If it is not wedged, turn the power off and get the spoon out. Then try to see if the disposal was damaged.

  • Velma Neal Bailey Velma Neal Bailey on Aug 25, 2017

    Everything is okay now, thanks for all of your helpful suggestions.

  • Melissa V Melissa V on Aug 26, 2017

    That just scares me to no end...now I'll have a disposal nightmare! 🙀🛌

  • Paul Bogs Paul Bogs on Jan 09, 2020

    This happened to me but the spoon came out fine but now the disposal won’t turn on. Any ideas why it won’t work now even with power?

  • Pat Pat on Jan 10, 2020

    Does it have a reset button? Could the electric breaker have flipped off?