Service
Garbage Disposal Repair
Repair and replacement of jammed, humming, leaking, non-draining or dead garbage disposals, with correct drain and dishwasher connections.
- Licensed and insured
- Price agreed before work
- A plumber who works your area
A garbage disposal that hums, leaks or refuses to drain is a small appliance causing a large inconvenience, and the fix is often simpler than replacement. Our garbage disposal repair service connects you with a licensed local plumber who can clear jams safely, fix leaks at the connections, and replace the unit when it has actually failed.
Jams, trips and dead units
Most disposal calls come down to three things. A hum with no grinding is a jam. A dead unit that makes no sound has usually tripped its overload button, lost power at the switch or outlet, or burned out the motor. A unit that trips repeatedly is either overloaded by what is going into it or wearing out. The plumber checks each of these in order and does not replace a unit that only needed a jam cleared.
Leaks under the sink
Disposals leak from the sink flange where the unit mounts, from the dishwasher inlet hose, from the drain elbow, or from the body of the unit itself. The first three are repairable with new gaskets, putty or connections. A leak from the housing means the internal seal has failed and the unit is done. Catching a leak early matters because cabinet floors absorb water quickly.
Draining problems
If the sink fills while the disposal runs, the problem is downstream. Ground food and grease build up in the drain line and P-trap, and the disposal simply cannot push water through. The plumber clears the line and, if the dishwasher shares the connection, makes sure it is routed correctly with a high loop or air gap so waste water does not flow back into it.
Replacement
When replacement is the answer, the plumber sizes the new unit to your household and sink, mounts it with a fresh flange seal, connects the drain and dishwasher properly, and confirms the electrical connection is safe. A correctly installed disposal is quiet, drains well and lasts for years.
Does this sound familiar?
Problems this service solves
- Disposals that hum but do not spin, from a jammed flywheel
- Units that are completely dead with no sound at all
- Leaks from the sink flange, the dishwasher connection, the drain elbow or the body
- Slow draining or standing water in the sink with the disposal running
- Loud grinding, rattling or metallic noises
- Bad odors that cleaning does not remove
- Units that trip the reset button repeatedly
Signs you need garbage disposal repair
If more than one of these is true, the problem is usually past the point a plunger or a store-bought cleaner will fix.
- A humming sound with no grinding when the switch is on
- Water dripping into the cabinet from the bottom of the unit
- Water backs up into the sink or into the dishwasher when the disposal runs
- The reset button on the bottom has to be pressed often
- The unit is more than ten years old and increasingly noisy
What to expect
How the visit works
Check the simple causes first
The plumber checks power, the reset button and the jam, and clears foreign objects safely, because many disposal calls are a jam or a tripped overload rather than a failed unit.
Inspect for leaks and wear
The sink flange, the dishwasher inlet, the drain connection and the housing are inspected. A leak from the body itself means the internal seal has failed and the unit is finished.
Repair or replace
Flanges, gaskets, drain elbows and dishwasher connections are repaired. A unit with a failed motor, bearing or housing is replaced with a properly sized disposal, correctly wired and connected.
Test the drain path
The plumber runs water and the unit together to confirm the sink drains freely, and clears the drain line if it has built up with ground food and grease.
What's included
What you get on every job, whoever we send.
- Jams and simple faults fixed without an unnecessary replacement
- Under-sink leaks stopped before the cabinet floor is damaged
- Correct dishwasher and drain connections that prevent backups
- Replacement units sized for your household and sink
Questions
Garbage Disposal Repair questions
My disposal hums but does not grind. What is wrong?
The motor is getting power but the flywheel is jammed by something hard, such as a bone, a utensil or a fruit pit. Turn off the switch, never put your hand in the unit, and do not keep running it, which can burn out the motor. A plumber clears the jam from below with the correct wrench and checks that the flywheel spins freely afterward.
Why is the disposal leaking from the bottom?
A leak from the bottom of the housing means the internal seal between the grinding chamber and the motor has failed. That is not repairable, and the unit needs to be replaced. Leaks from the top flange, the side drain connection or the dishwasher hose are repairable.
Can I run the dishwasher if the disposal is broken?
The dishwasher usually drains through the disposal, so if the disposal is jammed or clogged, the dishwasher may not drain properly. If the disposal is simply dead electrically but not blocked, the dishwasher will still drain through it. Ask the plumber to check the connection when the unit is serviced.
What should not go in a garbage disposal?
Grease and oil, fibrous vegetables such as celery and corn husks, starchy foods like pasta and rice, coffee grounds, eggshells in quantity, bones and fruit pits. Disposals handle small soft food scraps with plenty of cold running water. Treating them as a trash can is the leading cause of both disposal failures and kitchen drain clogs.
How long do garbage disposals last?
A typical unit lasts eight to fifteen years depending on quality and use. Frequent jams, growing noise, and a reset button that needs pressing regularly are signs the motor or bearings are wearing out. When a unit that age fails, replacement usually costs little more than a repair.
Related services
Faucet Repair
Repair and replacement of dripping, leaking, low-pressure and stiff kitchen, bathroom, tub, shower and outdoor faucets, including cartridge and valve work.
See what this coversPipe Repair
Repair and replacement of burst, leaking, frozen, corroded or noisy water pipes, from a single fitting to a whole-house repipe in copper or PEX.
See what this coversToilet Repair
Repair and replacement of running, leaking, clogged, weak-flushing and loose toilets, including wax rings, fill valves, flappers and flange repairs.
See what this coversWater Heater Repair
Diagnosis and repair of gas, electric and tankless water heaters, including no-hot-water calls, leaks, pilot problems and sediment flushing.
See what this covers
Get it fixed
Garbage Disposal Repair, handled locally
Call with your ZIP code and what you are seeing. We route you to a licensed plumber in your area who does garbage disposal repair every week.
- Licensed and insured
- Answered 24/7
- Price before work