Loose screw *inside* Whirlaway garbage disposer?

Looks like a drywall screw. Take it out. Great pictures.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

A couple of days ago, a handyman installed a new kitchen countertop in my home. To do that, he removed the sink and faucets and Whirlaway garbage disposer temporarily. He put everything back, and then left.

But when I tried to use the garbage disposer, it started giving off this horrible strong rattling sound. I looked inside the disposer--and found that a 1 1/4 inch long Phillips screw was jammed into the side of the disposer between the turntable and the ring. Here are two photos:

With a wooden stick, I can push the turntable around at least one revolution in either direction, but that's about it.

What is this screw doing in there???

Is it an internal part of the disposer that came loose, or did it fall in there from the handyman's carpentry work? IOW, should I try to screw it back in--or try to remove it?

Any ideas?

Unless your garbage disposal is a cheap and very old that screw is not from= your disposal. Call the moron back and have him take out the screw or tell= him you=92re going to go after his license. I=92m assuming you checked to = see if he has a state contactor=92s license.

your disposal. Call the moron back and have him take out the screw or tell him you?re going to go after his license. I?m assuming you checked to see if he has a state contactor?s license.

If you're right, it was a simple accident, nothing to get upset about. I'll just take an angled screwdriver and remove it.

Even if it did come loose from somewhere inside the disposer, it sure doesn't belong where it is, jammed in between the ring and turntable!

It's definitely not part of the disposal, so remove nd throw it out. For the next few days, I would keep an eye out for any leaks in the vicinity of the disposal or around the boundary between the sink and the countertop, just in case the carpenter didn't do a good job restoring things.

Save the photos for use in Small Claims Court as you try to recover the repair costs of the negligence.

Joe

That may be difficult.

I have been trying now for more than a week to get them to return my phone calls. And the screw is jammed in there so tightly that I have been unable to remove it myself.

I'm going to call my own contractor and pay for it out of pocket. I may end up needing a new disposer too if the thing got damaged.

Right now, my main concern is getting the thing working again. I'll worry about how to pay for it later.