Garbage Disposal Repair Across the DMV

A garbage disposal is essentially a motor spinning a set of impellers against a shredder ring, with a reset button (a thermal overload breaker) that trips if the motor draws too much current, most often from a jam. A disposal that hums but doesn't spin has power reaching the motor but something physically blocking the impellers.

The correct order for a jammed disposal is: turn it off, never put a hand inside, use the hex-key wrench slot underneath (or an Allen wrench) to manually rotate the impellers free, clear the obstruction with tongs, then press the reset button before trying power again. Forcing it repeatedly through the switch without freeing the jam is what burns out motors.

A disposal with no sound at all when switched on usually means a tripped reset button, a bad switch, or in some cases a wiring fault rather than a jam — worth checking the reset button first since it's the simplest fix.

Leaks come from three places: the sink flange seal at the top (ages and hardens over years), the dishwasher inlet or drain outlet connections, or a cracked housing from age or impact — each has a distinct repair, from reseating the flange to full unit replacement for a cracked housing.

Replacement disposals are inexpensive relative to the labor and mess of doing it yourself under a sink, and we carry standard-size units to swap a failed disposal same-visit in most cases, including reconnecting dishwasher drain lines correctly.