You flipped the switch and got a hum, not a grind. Or nothing at all. Maybe there's a slow drip under the sink that's been warping the cabinet floor for weeks. Either way, the disposal that ate everything you threw at it last year just quit on you mid-dinner cleanup.
Happens all over Colton. These units take a beating, and the hard water we get across the Inland Empire doesn't help. Scale builds up on the grinding plate, the shredder ring corrodes, and one apple core too many finally jams the whole thing.
Good news: most disposals can be fixed in a single visit. And if yours is too far gone, we carry replacements on the truck and swap it the same trip. No second appointment, no week of washing dishes in a bucket.
Why Your Disposal Quit — And How We Get It Running
A disposal that hums but won't spin is almost always jammed. Something wedged between the impeller and the grind ring — a chunk of bone, a fruit pit, a stray spoon — and the motor can't turn. Run it like that and you'll burn out the motor for good. A unit that's dead silent usually tripped its internal reset or lost power at the switch. And a leak? That's either the sink flange up top, the dishwasher hose connection, or a cracked housing at the bottom, and each one tells me something different about what's worth fixing.
When I show up, I find the real cause before I quote a dime. I'll free a jam, reset the motor, reseat the flange with fresh plumber's putty, or tighten and reseal the drain connections — whatever it actually needs. A jam or a loose fitting is a repair, plain and simple, and I'm not going to sell you a new unit you don't need.
But I'll give you the straight answer too. If the housing is cracked or the motor's cooked, repair is throwing money at a dead unit. A leaking bottom seal means water got into the motor — that one's done. When that's the case, I'll tell you what a new disposal costs installed, right then, and put one in the same visit so you're not living out of a dish tub.
Signs Your Disposal Needs Attention
- It hums when you flip the switch but the blades don't turn
- Nothing happens at all — no hum, no spin, dead silent
- Water pooling in the cabinet or dripping from the bottom of the unit
- It keeps tripping the reset button or shutting off mid-grind
- Grinding got loud, rattly, or way slower than it used to be
- A sour smell that won't quit even after you clean it out
