When your friends and family are staying for extended visits during the holidays, it seems like every task is just a bit more chaotic. Whether it’s because there are more people in the home or, because of the pressure to make it the best visit ever, some decisions are not as thoughtful as they normally would be.

This is especially true when preparing and cleaning up meals in the kitchen. Having a garbage disposal can make work in the kitchen much quicker. But, when you are already in a hurry and overwhelmed by being the best host, some of the things that you put into the garbage disposal are not the best.

Here are some steps that you can follow to safely remove a hard object from your garbage disposal:

• Turn the power off. First, make sure to unplug your garbage disposal. This way any chance of the system engaging on accident is completely removed. Open the cupboard door and locate the plug that powers your garbage disposal. This is usually located all the way to the back of the cupboard and you can follow the cord to the garbage disposal. Unplug the cord and let it hang until you are ready to plug it back in.
• Shed some light. Next, find a flashlight and shine it down the garbage disposal drain. Spread the rubber shield that covers the drain so that you can get a clear line of sight to the inside of the disposal. Look all around the edges until you locate the item that is causing the problem. If it is a piece of silverware, it should be pretty obvious. But, if it is a bone or something small, it might take some searching.
• Get the right tools. Finally, use some needle nose pliers or, very long tweezers to pull the object out. NEVER put your hand into the garbage disposal. While the system is turned off, there are blades inside of the disposal, and a whole host of bacteria. Getting your hand cut by the disposal blades while it is swimming in bacteria water is not a good situation.

Having a hard object fall into the garbage disposal is not an unusual situation. But, make sure to follow these tips to get it resolved without injury so that this common situation doesn’t turn into a major catastrophe.