To get the grease out of your garbage disposal turn on the hot water. Get it running as hot as it can. Turn on your garbage disposal and drop in a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. Let it run for about 30 to 45 seconds, then shut off the disposal, but let the hot water run until all the suds are gone. You can repeat this process a couple of times if there’s a lot of grease in your disposal.

There are products specifically designed for cleaning a garbage disposal, and they work. However, if you’re looking for a less expensive method, try combining a handful of ice cubes with citrus peels. Lemons work really well as do limes. Oranges are okay. Run the disposal with cold water running for about 15 to 30 seconds.

First thing you need to do is make sure power is getting to the garbage disposal. If your unit plugs into a standard socket under your sink, plug something else into the outlet and see if it works. If it doesn’t, or if your unit is hardwired, check the breakers in your fuse box. If it does work, time to call a plumber.

Most likely your garbage disposal is jammed. Here’s how you unjam it:

First of all, turn it off and leave it off. Turning it on while it’s jammed isn’t good for it.

Go under your sink and unplug the unit from the wall socket. If your unit is hardwired, you may have to shut off the power at the circuit breaker.

Look down inside the disposal and see if you can see the source of the jam. If you were in the middle of using your disposal and it is too full to see what might be causing the jam, you’re going to have to take everything you put in back out. (Hopefully it wasn’t the lettuce you forgot about in the back of your vegetable drawer while you went on vacation.)