fork stuck in kitchen garbage disposal and unjammable

[blackcheetah]

new to this forum. searched the forum but no avail.

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i believe there is a fork stuck in my garbage disposal and i've tried using the hex wrench to unjam, but it won't budge. also tried sticking a stick in there to unjam it, won't budge. then put my hand down there, felt nothing sticking out and it won't budge. electrics work as it hums when i throw the switch.

water is backed up in it and there's a bunch of old grease and goo that has been sitting there while i waited for the water to trickle down. however that has come to a stop.

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i feel my last resort is to call a plumber. how much do you think he would charge for a job like this?

my other option is to buy a new disposal unit and install myself and hopefully save some money.

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if there's water in the disposal unit, and i decide to replace myself, is there any precautions i need to take so i don't get week old grease, goo, all mixed with failed draino attempts, all over myself and the kitchen floor and cabinets?

this grease is a rare form of goo that doesn't come off with degreaser. i guess some type of biological organism has grown on it or something. definitely some of the most disgusting substance i've ever had to handle.

and can anyone recommend a decent degreaser so i can cleanse myself of week old bacon grease/draino/fungus concoction?

please help.

 

[johnjh2o]

Never put drain cleaners a plugged drain. They don't work as you can see. And don't put any thing else in there. At the least the disposal may have to be removed to get it freed up. If It's getting old it may be a good time to replace it. As far as getting rid of the grease and whatever you may have in there. Try adding water and plunge the h*** out of it. This may force some of it out. If that doesn't work then you have to bite the bullet and remove the drain connections, catching as much as you can in a bucket. As far as what a plumber would charge depends on the area you live and the size of the mess you have created.

John

 

[blackcheetah]

thanks for the input.

i'm located in los angeles.

i put the draino in when the water was a slow drain. it was draining at the time. but after i used the draino, it just clogged up. don't know if it was the draino that did it in. that would be quite ironic.

the plunger might make more of a mess. there's about an inch or two of water backed up in the disposal unit, mixed with that grease substance. i've tried scooping as much of it as i could.

i'm pretty sure i'm going to just replace the unit. my main concern is the mess and finding a matching unit so i don't have to mess with the piping. i'll try to post a photo as soon as i can. thanks again.

 

[LiQuId]

that "strage grease substance" is likely the draino and what remains of the stainless steel hammers in the disposal, draino and the likes cause a chemical reaction called Caustic Embrittlement and actually can disolve stainless quite easily, what is left behind is extremelly corrosive and dangerous. Please if and when you hire a plumber let them know that there is draino in there, and if you do anything around that disposal make sure you wear eye protection, it takes a very small amount of this to get in an eye to cause permanent blindness.

draino is only good for ignighting gassoline when its cold outside and youre really really bored... but that is a recipie i will save

 

[blackcheetah]

thanks for that liquid. i will definitely let the plumber know. i guess i'm going to be asking my manager to deal with this issue. thanks for all the help guys.