Garbage disposal repair and installation in northern Utah

A garbage disposal that hums but does not grind is jammed. The motor has power, and something is holding the grinding plate still. It is usually a fruit pit, a bone, a bottle cap, or a piece of silverware.

Here is what to do:

1. Turn the wall switch off. A jammed motor that keeps humming will overheat.
2. Never put your hand in the disposal.
3. Look in with a flashlight. If you can see the object, lift it out with tongs or pliers.
4. Wait a few minutes for the motor to cool. Press the red reset button on the bottom of the disposal.
5. Run cold water and try the switch once.

If it hums again, turn it off and stop there. Many disposals come with a small wrench that frees the plate from below. Follow the maker's instructions for it, with the switch off. If the disposal still will not turn, the motor or the bearings have failed.

Where the water shows up tells you what failed on the garbage disposal.

• Leak at the top, where the disposal meets the sink. The sink flange has come loose, or the plumber's putty under it has dried out. The disposal can be taken down, resealed, and remounted.
• Leak at the side, from the small hose. That hose comes from the dishwasher. The clamp is loose or the hose has cracked.
• Leak at the side, from the large pipe. That is the drain outlet. The gasket is worn or the bolts are loose.
• Leak from the bottom of the disposal. A seal inside the unit has failed, and water is coming through the motor housing. That cannot be repaired. The disposal has to be replaced.

Put a bucket under the leak and stop using the disposal until it is fixed. Water under the sink ruins the cabinet floor quickly, and the disposal's power connection is down there too.

Repair a garbage disposal when the problem is a jam, a loose connection, or a clog. Replace it when the motor or the body has failed.

Repair makes sense for:

• A jam that can be cleared.
• A leak at the sink flange, the dishwasher hose, or the drain outlet.
• A clogged drain line past the disposal.
• A reset button that tripped after a single overload.

Replacement makes sense when:

• Water leaks from the bottom of the unit.
• The reset button trips again and again.
• The motor hums and will not turn even with nothing in the way.
• The disposal grinds poorly or takes much longer than it used to.
• The body is cracked or rusted.

A disposal is a sealed appliance. When the motor or an inside seal fails, there are no parts to rebuild it with, so a new unit is the fix.

Most garbage disposal replacements are done in one visit. The steps are:

1. We turn off power to the disposal at the wall switch and at the breaker.
2. We disconnect the drain pipe and the dishwasher hose, and take the old disposal off its mount.
3. We check the sink flange. If the new disposal uses a different mount, or the old putty has failed, we set a new flange.
4. If a dishwasher drains through the disposal, we remove the knockout plug inside the dishwasher inlet. A plug left in place is the usual reason a dishwasher will not drain after a new disposal goes in.
5. We hang the new disposal, connect the drain and the dishwasher hose, and make the power connection.
6. We fill the sink, run the disposal, and check every joint for leaks.

If there is no outlet or switch for a disposal under your sink, an electrician adds one first.

We give free estimates and do not post prices. These are the things that change the cost of garbage disposal work:

• Repair or replacement. Clearing a jam or resealing a flange is a smaller job than a new disposal.
• Motor size. A disposal with more horsepower handles tougher scraps and jams less. It costs more.
• Noise and build. Units with sound insulation and stainless steel grinding parts cost more than basic ones.
• The drain. Old or badly fitted drain pipe under the sink may have to be rebuilt to fit the new unit.
• Power. A sink with no outlet or switch needs an electrician.
• First-time installation. Adding a disposal where there was none means a new flange, new drain piping, and power.

We tell you the cost before we start the work.

A garbage disposal handles small, soft food scraps. These things jam it, wear it out, or clog the drain past it:

• Grease, fat, and oil. They go down as liquid and harden in the pipe.
• Fibrous scraps. Celery, corn husks, onion skins, and artichoke leaves wrap around the grinding plate.
• Starchy foods in quantity. Potato peels, pasta, and rice turn to paste and swell in the drain.
• Hard items. Bones, fruit pits, and shells.
• Coffee grounds in quantity. They settle in the trap like sand.
• Anything that is not food. Twist ties, produce stickers, glass, and silverware.

Run cold water before you grind, while you grind, and for several seconds after. Cold water keeps grease solid, so it gets chopped up and carried away. Feed scraps in a little at a time.

A sink that backs up when the garbage disposal runs has a clog in the drain, not a bad disposal. The disposal grinds the food and pushes it into the drain pipe. If the pipe is partly blocked, the water has nowhere to go and comes back up.

Where the water rises points to the clog:

• Only the disposal side fills. The clog is in the disposal's outlet or in the trap right below it.
• Both sides of a double sink fill. The clog is farther along, in the pipe inside the wall.
• The dishwasher backs up into the sink. The clog is past the point where the dishwasher hose connects.

Do not pour chemical drain cleaner into a disposal. It can damage the disposal and the pipes, and it can splash on whoever works on the sink next. We clear the line with a cable and check the trap and the disposal outlet.