New Tenant of 1 month texted that they haven't yet used DW & disposal. (They prefer to wash dishes by hand.)

I demonstrated it when they got the keys at lease signing.

T tried the switch & nothing happened. She hit the red reset button under the unit.

After some troubleshooting via phone, she unplugged the unit & also the DW. She plugged the disposal into the other outlet & immediately heard something & smelled burnt rubber(?) from the unit. After immediately unplugging it, she pulled something out of the unit, & said it was long, green & some kind of food they don't eat. "Maybe it was growing in there." (me = eye roll)

I'm going to go there & take a look to make sure it's cleaned out.

Now that the unit started to burn - will I need to replace it?

Thanks

@Ken, I could remove it if tenant's don't want it - But - it could be considered a "reduction in services" & they could ask for a reduction in rent.

Kitchen drain lines most always have some kind of build up of foods. Between tenancy's, I would snake and flush out the line and run the disposal for 30 to 60 seconds to insure it is working properly.

The same is said with shower drain, tub drains, etc. When the old tenant leaves and before you re-rent a unit/home, flush out lines. You can not blame a new tenant unless you have cleaned out month's worth of build up.

This is why I remove disposals during turnover. Tenants abuse them, and it's never their fault even when I pull the matching spoon out. And I have never had someone decide not to rent because we lacked a garbage disposal.

You said it yourself: they prefer to wash dishes by hand. How much of a "reduction in services" is this really going to be?

I would offer what I did to a tenant who ended up in the same situation once: mid-lease, disposal burned out, and I didn't want to replace it.

"Dear tenant, I will offer you a $75, one-time discount on next month's rent if you would sign this addendum saying you agree that we can convert this drain line over to where it has no disposal."

Robert, All the lines were just flushed out because we had to repair a water line in the basement.

The unit was working & demonstrated to the tenant at move in.

Hoosier, Thank you for answering.

Robert, Thanks.

I did tell tenant to run disposal at least 1X / week & before running the DW.

Lois,

The green stringy stuff could be celery strings.

The smell could be the rubber seal that has dried and stuck to the shaft due to non-use. But you said you demo'd it a month ago so something happened in the last 30 days. Probably user error and they won't admit it.

Or the motor straining if the blades are jammed.

MY guess is the res does not understand how to use it and jammed it. I'll betcha a milkshake you go look and pull out a spoon or piece of glass. Problem solved.

Me? We install the stronger 3/4 hp disposals and have no issues. The 1/2hp units are too weak. I cannot recall a complaint about a 3/4 hp disposal.

We also mount the hex wrench to the wall of the sink cabinet so it's handy.

Newer models have an easy mount bracket, making replacement simple.

Momma picks the house. A disp and DW help my rentals stand out from the crowd and get top dollar. We ALWAYS install them when rehabbing except in tiny tiny low end kitchens.

BRAD