60-minute guarantee · Coupon
Later than 60 minutes from call to door?
Here’s $60 off.
No code to remember: tell your plumber or our dispatcher and $60 comes off the invoice. Good 24/7 on emergency calls in our service areas. Guarantee terms
Open 24/7 · 60-minute guarantee
Garbage Disposal Repair & Installation
A disposal that hums, leaks or leaves the sink full of water often needs a repair, not a new unit. We clear jams and the clogs below them, fix leaks, and install new disposals — once you’ve checked that your building or town allows one.
At your location in 60 minutes or you save $60.
The short answer
Switch the disposal off and unplug it or turn off its breaker before you do anything, and never put your hand inside. If it hums but won’t turn, work the small hex wrench that came with it back and forth in the socket on the bottom, lift out what jammed it with tongs, then press the reset button and restore the power. If it still won’t run, leaks or backs up the sink, call us — we repair or replace it and give you the price first.
Is this an emergency?
Call now if…
- Water is leaking from the unit into the cabinet or the apartment below
- A burning smell is coming from the unit — switch off its breaker first
- The kitchen sink is backed up and won’t drain at all
Can usually wait for a scheduled visit
- A unit that jams now and then but frees with the hex wrench
- Replacing an old disposal that still works
- Adding a disposal where there hasn’t been one
Not sure? Call anyway — we’ll tell you honestly.
Do this right now
- Switch the disposal off and unplug it, or turn off its breaker.
- Never reach into the unit — lift out anything you can see with tongs or pliers.
- If it hums, free the flywheel with the hex wrench in the socket underneath, then press the reset button.
- If it’s leaking, set a bowl under the drip and stop running water and the dishwasher.
Signs you need us
- It hums, but nothing turns
- Silence when you flip the switch
- It cuts out mid-grind and needs resetting
- A drip from the sink flange, the side connections or the bottom
- Water standing in the sink after you grind
- Dishwasher water backing up into the sink
- Rattling or metal-on-metal grinding
- A smell from the sink that cleaning doesn’t fix
How we handle the call
- 01
Check the basics
We confirm the reset hasn’t tripped and the unit is getting power — if the outlet or switch is at fault, we tell you it’s a job for an electrician.
- 02
Clear the jam
Bottle caps, bones, fruit pits and stray cutlery come out, and we check that the flywheel turns freely.
- 03
Trace the leak
Sink flange, dishwasher inlet, discharge tube or the body itself — each has a different fix, and a leaking body means a new unit.
- 04
Clear the line
If the sink still won’t drain, we clear the trap and the pipe below, where ground-up food tends to settle.
- 05
Repair or replace
When it’s close, you get the price for both. A new unit goes on a secure mount, with the dishwasher knockout plug removed and every joint tested.
Know your building
Garbage disposals in apartment buildings and houses
Some apartment buildings, and some towns, ban or restrict garbage disposals, so check before you buy a unit rather than after it’s in. In a co-op or condo, look in the house rules; in a rental, look in the lease — and if it isn’t clear, ask your board, managing agent or landlord. The concern is usually the kitchen line: in older buildings it’s often narrowed by decades of grease and shared by a whole line of apartments, and ground-up food tends to settle there. In a house, ask your town or sewer utility whether disposals are allowed.
Once you know a disposal is allowed, the plumbing is only half the job. A disposal needs a switched outlet or a hard-wired connection under the sink, and many older kitchens don’t have one — adding it is work for an electrician, before we install. In a tall building, the kitchen line may serve every apartment in your stack, so what goes down your disposal can end up as a clog that backs up into a neighbor’s sink below. And in a house on a septic system, a disposal sends more solids to the tank, so plan on having it pumped more often.
One visit, whole job
Everything covered on the call
- Jammed and humming disposals
- Units that keep tripping the reset
- Sink flange leaks
- Dishwasher connection leaks
- Clogs in the trap and line below the unit
- New disposal installation
- Replacement of worn-out units
- Dishwasher knockout plug and hose hookup
- Old unit removed and taken away
Upfront price, every time
What garbage disposal work costs
A jam, a tripped reset or a loose dishwasher hose is a short visit. A leak at the sink flange takes longer because the unit has to come down and be remounted, and a clog in the line below is priced like any kitchen drain clog.
A replacement depends on the unit you choose — motor size and noise insulation vary — and on whether the old mount can be reused. If there’s no outlet or switch under the sink, that electrical work is separate and done by an electrician; for our part, you get the price before we start.
Honest advice
Repair or replace the disposal?
Repair it when the problem is outside the motor: a jam, a tripped reset, a leaking sink flange, a loose dishwasher connection or a worn discharge gasket. Those are quick fixes, and a unit with a healthy motor has plenty of life left.
Replace it when water leaks from the body itself — the internal seals have failed, and they can’t be fixed — when the motor still only hums after the flywheel has been freed, or when the housing has rusted through. A new unit of the same make can often go on the existing mount, which keeps the job simple.
Mistakes that make it worse
- Reaching into the unit by hand — use tongs, with the power off
- Pouring chemical drain cleaner into it — the caustic sits in the unit and splashes on whoever opens it
- Connecting a dishwasher to a new disposal without removing the knockout plug
- Stuffing in a pile of peels at once instead of feeding scraps a little at a time
Keep it from happening again
- Run cold water while it grinds and for a few seconds after
- Keep out grease, bones, fibrous peels like celery and corn husks, and large amounts of coffee grounds
- Run it regularly — a disposal left unused for weeks can rust and seize
- Grind a handful of ice now and then to knock buildup off the grinding parts
The 60-minute guarantee
The clock starts when our dispatcher confirms your job. If we’re late, $60 comes off your invoice. No forms, no fine-print games. Read the terms
FAQ
Garbage Disposal Repair & Installation questions
Are garbage disposals allowed everywhere?
Not everywhere. Some apartment buildings ban or restrict them in their house rules or leases, and some towns restrict them too. Check with your board, managing agent or landlord — or, in a house, your town or sewer utility — before you buy one.
Why does my disposal hum but not turn?
Something is jamming the flywheel, or the motor is failing. With the power off, turn the flywheel back and forth from underneath with the hex wrench; if it frees up and still only hums when switched on, the unit is usually due for replacement.
Why is water leaking from the bottom of my disposal?
A leak from the body or the bottom usually means the internal seals have failed, and the unit needs replacing. Leaks from the sink flange or the side connections can usually be repaired.
Can you install a disposal if there’s no outlet under the sink?
The disposal needs a switched outlet or a hard-wired connection, and adding one is an electrician’s job. Once the power is there, we install the unit and connect the drain and the dishwasher.
What shouldn’t go down a garbage disposal?
Grease and oil, fibrous peels and husks, bones, and coffee grounds in any real quantity. Small amounts of soft food scraps with plenty of cold water are what it’s built for.
My dishwasher stopped draining after the disposal went in. Why?
The knockout plug in the disposal’s dishwasher inlet probably wasn’t removed. It’s a quick fix: we knock it out, fish the plug out of the unit and reconnect the hose.
More we handle
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