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To fix a garbage disposal that doesn’t work

Don’t try to run the disposal if it hums but doesn’t grind—this may burn out the motor.

1. Push the reset button on the bottom of the disposal and then try it again.

2. Make sure its cord is plugged into a working electrical outlet or hardwired to an electrical box. If necessary, reset the circuit breaker that supplies electrical power to it.

3. To clear a jam, insert a 1/4-inch hex wrench into the hex-shaped hole in the underside of the garbage disposal and crank both directions a few times to free-up the impellers.

Garbage Disposal Allen Wrench

4. If you don’t have a hex wrench, disconnect the power, put a short broom stick into the disposal, push it down against one of the blades, and try to rotate the impeller back and forth to free the jam.

5. If something has been put in the disposal that shouldn’t have—such as metal, rubber, glass, or fibrous food waste such as artichoke leaves or banana peels—use tongs or pliers to pull the material out. Never use your hand.

Learn more using the link below:

How to Unclog a Garbage Disposal: WikiHow

If you are still having issues, please submit a maintenance request through the AW Maintenance Portal

Common locations: are outdoor outlets, kitchen outlets, bathroom outlets, and any near water. These outlets provide additional protection against electrical shock.

Cause: In most cases, a tripped circuit breaker is caused by a temporary overload on the circuit or a short circuit in some device plugged into the circuit

Solution: If your GFCI outlet isn't working or has tripped, you'll need to press the TEST button. This will cause the top button to pop out and you should hear a loud click. Push the top button back in to restore the outlet's power.

Still Not Working?  Locate your circuit breaker box. These are usually gray in color, in the lower level, or basement of the home. There will be a metal door on the panel. Open the door to reveal the various circuit breakers in your home.

Identify a GFCI breaker in you breaker panel through visual inspection. If your breaker is GFCI protected, there will be a "push here to test" button located on the face of the individual breaker. If you locate one of these breakers in your home, it means that every outlet on that circuit is GFCI protected.

Check the breaker at the breaker panel to see if it can be reset. 

If your outlets continue to trip, make a repair request so we can further troubleshoot the issue.

Garbage disposals work best if you follow these basic rules:

1. Use cold water when grinding food (hot water can melt fats and clog the mechanism and the pipes)
2. Do not overfill
3. Do not pour bleach, drain cleaners, or other chemicals into the unit
4. Do not grind overly fibrous materials, bones, or coffee grounds (check the owner’s manual) or such materials as glass, metal, or rubber
5. Run water before and after you use the disposal If something has been put in the disposal that should not have been, use tongs or pliers to pull the material out. Never use your hand.
6. To clean a garbage disposal of built-up sludge and debris, fill it with ice cubes and a cup of rock salt and then run it for about five seconds. If your garbage disposal smells bad, you can deodorize it by running warm water down it while you grind a quartered lemon.
7. Use cold water when grinding food (hot water can melt fats and clog the mechanism and the pipes)

Is your toilet blocked?

If your toilet is clogged and will not flush, use a plunger to create a seal and pump vigorously to dislodge the blockage.

Make sure you are using the correct type of plunger.  If you are not sure, please refer to the image below.

If you need to flush the toilet, only do so once. Multiple flushes may cause the toilet to overflow.

Broken handle?

If the handle of your toilet isn't flushing the basin properly, lift the cover on the back of the toilet to verify that the handle's chain is correctly attached.

If you are still having issues, please submit a maintenance request through the AW Manage Maintenance Portal

There are many reasons you may have lost power.

First, something may have caused an interruption of power from your provider.  In addition, thunderstorms can cause a disruption , or it could be a problem with a circuit or other electrical system in your home. Loose connectors, device failures, ground movement, underground root growth, or improper wire installation can all cause shorts or overloads as well.

If you have lost power, check with your neighbors to see if the power outage is widespread. If they don’t have power either, the problem is with your power provider, not the electrical systems in your home. Your power company should be informed, and you will have to wait for them to address the issue.

Pepco Electric Outage Map

If the power outage is limited to your home, check your main breaker to see if it’s tripped. Flip the switch back on if it is tripped, which may restore your power. If you are only experiencing a partial power outage, you can try to turn on your electric dryer or range as a test. If it doesn’t turn on, or if the main switch trips again at any point, you will need  to submit a maintenance request.

Hot water in townhomes and private properties is heated in the hot water tank. If you live in a condominium, your hot water is heated in a communal boiler.

If you live in a single family home, locate the tank and attempt to reset it to resolve the problem. For boiler problems, please notify us so we can look into the problem.

Your circuit breaker is designed to protect your home against an overload and will automatically trip and cut the current if a fault ever occurs. If this occurs in your home, you need to locate the circuit box and reset it.

Before resetting your circuit breaker, you also need to make certain there are no dangerous situations in your property. Make certain anything plugged into the circuit has been unplugged and the situation that caused the circuit to overload initially has been resolved.

Flip the circuit breaker back to the ON position to restore power. If the breaker trips again or you aren't able to reset it, submit a repair request.

Older Homes with Fuse Boxes

If you live in an older property and have a fuse box, refer to the information here.

Have questions about how to use your sink's disposal function or what you can and cannot place inside? Get equipped with the right information here.

Have you lost hot water access? First, verify that you have electrical power. If you're having any trouble with your circuits, refer to the questions about fuse boxes and circuit breakers.

Next, locate your hot water heater and check that the light is lit. If your heater is gas-powered, you may need to relight the pilot. You can check the tutorial above for how to light a pilot light.

Finally, verify that the settings on the tank are accurate. If anything is amiss, make updates and wait 15 to 20 minutes before testing the water temperature again.

Review the information here to determine how to change your furnace filter: How do I change my furnace filters?

Please try to troubleshoot your problem before making a repair request.

1. First, is it possible that there is a problem with your circuit? Check the information above for more details on how to restore electrical power.
2. Next, try to use the thermostat to troubleshoot your issue. Does everything look accurate? Can you cycle the system off and back on again to restore the defaults?
3. Finally, check for a switch next to your HVAC system that looks like a light switch; it's easy for this to get switched off and cause the system to turn off.

If you continue having problems, make a repair request.

If a doorknob makes a hole in your wall, you can patch this pretty easily. Learn how here  How to patch a doorknob hole in a wall

Drains clog pretty regularly, due to debris being flushed down the pipe. Learn how to resolve this following the steps outlined here: How to unclog my drain

The information below should help you determine what's causing your dishwasher problems.

Learn how to resolve this problem easily here:  I put the wrong soap in the dishwasher -- now what?

Need to shut off water to your property? Learn how here: How to turn off main water supply

My dryer isn't working properly.

Vent issues are the root cause of many clothes dryer problems. Check how to clear your vent here.

Use this resource to learn how to fix common problems with refrigerators.

If your garage door isn't opening and closing properly, the sensors may need to be realigned. You can learn how to do this by watching this video. If you keep experiencing problems, contact us for help.

Make sure gas service is on. Check thermostat on hot water tank. Is pilot light lit? Check breaker panel or fuses.

Check thermostat on tank and turn down.

Try plunger. If still clogged call maintenance. Note: if tenant caused clog then you will be accountable for bill.

Remove hair from drain. Try pouring drain cleaner down the drain.

Make sure Gas service is on with utility provider. Check thermostat. Try changing batteries in thermostat. Replace filters. Furnace covers on correctly? Is pilot light lit? Breaker tripped?

Clean food out of bottom of dishwasher. Clean float. Rinse dishes before washing. Use jet dry once a month. Jet dry prevents hard water build up.

Check thermostat, set correctly. Front and Back grills clean. Clean out drain hole.

* Make sure the emergency gas valve is turned on

* Check to be sure pilot light is lit

* If you are not able to get the pilot light lit, contact Marchant and we will have an experienced vendor assist you

* Mold can grow most anywhere that spores land and find moisture and a comfortable temperature

* Mold is typically found indoors at levels that do not affect most healthy individuals

* Almost every home gets some type of mold - the trick is to clean it up before it spreads

* The most visible type is mildew, which begins as tiny black spots. This is the stuff you see in grout lines in your shower, on damp window casings, etc.

* Check out this terrific site for more information on mold and how to clean it up: www.treatitlikedirt.com

* Floss - not bio-degradable

* Grease, Oil & Fat - like heart disease, these will decrease the flow of pipes over time

* Band-aids - these are plastic and not bio-degradable

* Medications - contaminates the water supply

* Disposable Wipes - EVEN if they say you can, Don't!

* Paper Towels - these do not break down like toilet paper

* Feminine Hygiene Products - including cotton pads and swabs

* Cat Litter

* Condoms

* Hair

* Look for the valve which is located to the LEFT behind your toilet tank

* Turn the knob to the RIGHT (clockwise) to close the valve and stop water flow

* Turn off water from faucet if possible

* Locate water lines below sink which lead to water valves

* Turn water valves to the RIGHT (clockwise) to stop the water flow

* Check the Filter! Change often (at least every three months) 95% of all service calls are due to dirty air filters

* Check thermostat setting - set Fan to "auto", set system to "Cool"

* Check air handler/furnace - you should hear it "rumbling", if not, check to make sure it is plugged in and switched on

* Check circuit breaker - make sure it is not 'tripped'

* Check to be sure the drain line is not clogged

* Check the fan unit outside - is the fan spinning and clear of leaves and branches?

* Locate the air-intake grill that holds the filter.

* Open grill, remove old filter.

* Replace with new one - IMPORTANT: air flow arrow on filter to point in the direction air is traveling (being "sucked" to).

* Check filter monthly. A good habit is to check the filter each month when making your rent payment.

* A clean filter will ensure your A/C is running smoothly and keep electric costs to a minimum.

* Collect liquid grease to be recycled

* Wipe pans clean with a paper towel

* Rinse pans with cold water

* Food scraps go in garbage, NOT the garbage disposal

* Remove toilet tank lid

* Lift up the fill valve (or float ball)

* Pull out the water tube

* Reach down and turn OFF the water valve (turn valve CLOCKWISE)

* Slow water flow from your fridge? Try changing the water filter

* Filter should be changed every 6 months

* Each fridge will have its own unique filter system - you can find details for each in the manual or by searching online

* Locate the filter, twist to the left to remove, twist right to install

* Some may have a push button system

* Reset the filter button to reflect a new filter has been installed

* Check for sounds of running water, trickling or hissing sounds

* Add 25 drops of food coloring to inside of toilet tank

* Wait 15 minutes...if no dye shows up in toilet bowl, no leak exists

* If dye appears in bowl, toilet needs repair. Please log a maintenance request through your tenant portal

* First, realign key so it is in a vertical position (12 o'clock)

* Apply light pressure to smaller disc around the key (called a plug)

* Pull and remove the key from the lock

* Disconnect the smoke detector by twisting counter-clockwise

* Replace the battery with a new one (this will most likely stop the chirping)

* If it is still chirping, remove the battery and hold down the test button for 15 seconds to drain any remaining charge

* Insert the new battery and reattach to the wall/ceiling

* If this doesn’t fix the problem, please contact Marchant immediately

If you have an emergency and are concerned for your safety, please call 911.