So it turns out that my small tumblers are the exact same size as my garbage disposal. I learned this to my dismay late Sunday night and started panicking as idea after idea failed to extract it from the belly of my sink. You'll never guess what finally did the trick.
When I say this tumbler is the exact size of our garbage disposal, I mean the exact size. I could grab the lip of the cup and pull it up, but it would get stuck in the opening, manhole-cover-style. I also couldn't flip the cup over to grab it by its more narrow base. The only way that glass was coming out was straight up. And its chances weren't looking good.
Tongs were too big to grab the cup without hitting the sides of the disposal chute. I tried spreading my fingers inside the cup and exerting force outward to lift it up (if that makes any sense), but it slipped away every time. My father-in-law suggested "reverse pliers," which sound like they would work...provided you have a pair and can identify them among the other pliers in the toolbox. In a fit of desperation, I even tried a toilet plunger.
Finally I just walked away, resigned to calling my landlord the next day.
And I think walking away is what finally did the trick. That and a pair of tweezers. When I came back for one last attempt before going to bed, the cup and the sink had dried out so I could actually grip the glass with my fingertips and get it at least partway up the disposal chute. Then I slipped a pair of tweezers into the very narrow space between the glass and disposal chute wall, grabbed it closer to the base, and lifted the glass out.
I could hardly believe it worked. And add another point in favor of tweezers in the kitchen.
Has something like this ever happened to you? What did you do?
Related: In-Stink-erator: Dealing with a Smelly Garbage Disposal
(Image: Emma Christensen)
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Elizabeth Apron fro...
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Did you try rubber gloves? I'm always surprised by what they can do. I use them to shuck corn grilled in the husks, to flip a turkey or chicken when roasting, to peel roasted beets or peppers (I obviously don't use the same pair for cleaning)
duct tape can also be helpful, stick a couple pieces to the inside of the glass with some length you can hold onto (sort of like rope "tied" to the glass), then you can pull up on that with one hand while guiding the glass with the other. worked for me when I was in a similar pickle... but dimensions may have been slightly different of course.
The post heading 'garbage disposal nightmares' made me shudder. I have heart palpitations any time I have to stick my hand down the disposal. It's completely irrational but I am terrified it'll turn on by itself.
I also have the same (but less irrational) fear of the meat slicer. The meat slicing scene in 'The Wrestler' almost gave me a heart attack!
...but glad you got your glass out. :P
I second the headline making me shutter. I'm glad we don't have one in this apartment. But I always triple checked after unplugging it that it would not turn my hand into a mangled stump as I went to retrive spoons and bottle caps.
oh come on, you didn't try putting your fist inside and squeeze your hand to make it bigger?
Its trivial to drop a disposal from the sink, the tool should be right there taped to the cord or something. if not, you just need a screwdriver to turn the nut.
I've never actually seen the movie, but the trailer for one of the Final Destination movies has one guy sticking his hand into the garbage disposal while it turned on by itself...
Ever since then I'm scare whenever I put my hand into the garbage disposal to pick up something.
I got something lodged in a disposal just this weekend actually: a small plastic disk that I think is a lid for a reusable container. Fit perfectly into the opening and I couldn't get a good enough grip with my fingers to lift it out. I solved the problem using a pair of needle-nose pliers, which worked like a charm!
I too am terrified of sticking my hand down in there. Never gonna happen. But I have, on more than one occasion when cleaning up after a big baking spree, dropped a few cake decorating piping tips in there. They're metal just like the disposal so they're crazy hard to find and get out of there! I usually figure it out when I go to use the disposal and it sounds like I'm trying to murder it! I end up wincing holding a flashlight while my husband wiggles his fingers in there looking.
use a mesh strainer like this one....
http://www.amazon.com/Danco-88821-4-Inch-Strainer-Stainless/dp/B000DZGJX4/ref=pd_sim_k_1
No more hand-in-mixer to grab spoon/fork. Installed a cheap removable plastic mesh with lift knob at the centre. Cheap but does its job wonderfully.
The same thing happened to us with a ramekin. We ended up using a plunger. It worked perfectly...although, I push that ramekin to the back of the cabinet now cause it just seems gross! LOL
You can take the bottom part (under the sink) of the garbage disposal off and go through the bottom if you need to as well.
I had that exact same glass get stuck in my sink, too. Except mine was just slightly too big to fall through and instead plugged the drain and sealed it. The suction inside made it incredibly difficult to get out. It took a lot of finesse with some pliers wrapped with rubber bands, but we got it out.
Yes! Years ago a small spice bowl managed to block the opening of my garbage disposal. It was the exact size and shape of the opening. Worse, the bowl part was down so I had nothing to grab onto and the draining water had created a suction.
I tried using a plunger, oil to get it to move and finally I tried breaking it with a hammer (they truly were unbreakable as the package suggested). Last attempt, I used my power drill to drill a hole in the bottom of the bowl. From there I was able to slip in a wire coat hanger and pry it up. On the plus side, I now have a spice bowl the perfect size for draining capers
I got one of these after I chewed up a 1/4 cup measuring cup when I turned on the disposal with it inside. Works great. (Prior to the Disposal Genie, I also chewed up at least one spoon.)
http://www.amazon.com/Danco-10051-Disposal-Genie-Black/dp/B002VHS19M/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1314232231&sr=8-6
This EXACT same thing happened to me. After struggling the same way you were, we finally got it! It turns out that if my boyfriend and I worked together to pull out the glass, it didn't slip and we got it. Four hands are better than two!
Remove the garburator?
Most are held on by a quick release setup, the rest are held on by three screws. Could not be simpler.
the mesh ones dont wash up as nicely as these: http://amzn.to/pbUFZu i have two per sink. so that when i wash one in the dishwasher, i can use the other. no more problems w anything falling into the sink
The drain cover likes to get stuck upside down in the garbage disposal. There's nothing to grip!
I pulled it out by turning the garbage disposal on and it vibrated loose.
You guys post the cheapest, most link baiting clickthrough intros ever.
I never would have thought to use tweezers! I see some good suggestions in the comments as well. Unfortunately, I don't have a garbage disposal... but I'll keep these ideas in mind for when I finally get to install one!
I've never understood the fear of sticking your hands down a garbage disposal; I've been doing it since I was a child... I had a roommate once that refused to put there hand down there though, and would turn on the disposal [and let it run "the blades will just break that up"] regardless of what might have fallen down there. I finally disconnected that unit after I had to spend almost an hour digging little bits of measuring spoon out that had not only gotten chopped up; but several pieces had lodged under the rotary mechanism and incapacitated the disposal. I don’t know if anybody else has ever had to have their hand down in a garbage disposal for almost an hour, but it’ll seriously turn you off to owning one.
Ha ha! I love the "fear of the disposal" posts. I'm still a big chicken when it comes to putting my hand in the disposal. Nothing has ever happened, but I get paranoid that someone else might not see my hand in there and flip the light switch right next to it and mangle my hand!
Anyhow another trick to try depending on what the item is and how far it's stuck (or with glasses stuck to each other) is to alternate really really hot water with really cold water.
Ha! I knew i'd find the answer on here. I had a ramekin the exact diameter of the drain stuck in it, right above the rubber shield. I couldn't even get tweezers or a knife between the cup and the drain. FINALLY, right before I went and got the drill like someone else suggested, I got the toilet plunger and gave it a go. It popped right out!
Plunger worked like a charm!