Humming, jammed, leaking — or just done?
Disposals have a short list of failure modes, and most have a clear best answer. A jam is a fix; a leaking body is a replacement. We’ll tell you which you have in the first five minutes.
Start with the symptom.
Humming but not spinning
A jam. Often freeable with the hex key and reset button — we’ll talk you through trying it before we roll a truck if you like.
Completely dead
Reset button first, then the outlet and switch. If power’s good and it’s still dead, the motor’s gone.
Leaking underneath
From the sink flange: resealable. From the body or bottom housing: that’s the end — replacement time.
Drains slowly or smells
Usually the drain line and habits rather than the unit — and sometimes an installation problem where the dishwasher ties in.
Why it happens here
Fibrous scraps, grease, and running it dry do most of the damage. Internal seals wear out with age — 8–12 years is a fair life for a mid-range unit.
How we diagnose it
Jam, electrical, seal or motor — we isolate it quickly and quote the honest path. If the unit’s repairable, we repair it; we don’t replace working equipment to pad a ticket.
Repair or replace — our honest rule
Jams and flange reseals are repairs. Dead motors and cracked housings are replacements — and worth a quick conversation about horsepower and sound insulation, because the difference in daily use is bigger than the difference in price.
From our job sites, not a stock library.
Questions homeowners actually ask
What should never go in a garbage disposal?
Grease, fibrous vegetables (celery, corn husks, artichoke leaves), coffee grounds in quantity, eggshells in quantity, pasta and rice that swell, and bones beyond the incidental. Cold water running before, during and after is the cheapest maintenance there is.
My disposal hums but won’t spin — is it broken?
Probably just jammed. Kill the switch, never put your hand in, and turn the motor from underneath with the hex key that fits the socket in the bottom center. Press the red reset button, run cold water, try again. If it jams repeatedly with normal use, the motor’s weakening.
Can a disposal be installed where there isn’t one?
Usually, yes — it needs a switched outlet under the sink and the drain reconfigured. We handle both sides or coordinate with your electrician.
Related services
Serving Santa Rosa · Sebastopol · Windsor · Healdsburg · Petaluma · Sonoma — see the full service area.
Dealing with a garbage disposals problem?
Tell us what you're seeing — we'll tell you what it probably is, and what it takes to fix it right.