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Lebanon Plumbers, home

Bathroom & Kitchen

Garbage Disposal Repair and Installation

Half of dead disposals are a tripped reset or a jam. It is worth knowing which before anyone charges you for a new one.

(717) 000-0000Request this service

What is included

What this service covers

What we actually do on this job, and what you can expect us to deal with while we are there.

  • Jammed and seized disposal units
  • Units that hum but do not turn, or do nothing at all
  • Leaks from the sink flange, the housing or the discharge
  • Slow draining and repeat blockages after the disposal
  • Full unit replacement and first-time installation
  • Dishwasher drain connections to the disposal

Signs to look for

You may need this if you are seeing any of these

  • The unit hums but the grinding plate does not move
  • Nothing happens at all when switched on
  • Water dripping underneath the unit into the cabinet
  • Water backing up into the sink when the disposal runs
  • Loud grinding, rattling or metallic noise
  • Persistent smell that cleaning does not fix

Why it happens

What usually causes it

01

Something jamming the plate

Bone, fruit stones, cutlery and fibrous vegetable waste stop the plate turning. The motor still energises, which is why the unit hums, and leaving it humming is what burns the motor out.

02

Tripped overload

Disposals have a reset button on the underside that trips after an overload. A completely dead unit is often nothing more than this, and it is worth pressing before calling anybody.

03

A corroded housing

Leaks from the body itself, rather than from a connection, mean the housing has rusted through. There is no repair for that and the unit needs replacing.

04

Grease and fibre in the line after it

A disposal does not stop grease reaching the drain. Where the waste line beyond it is already narrowed, the disposal simply feeds the blockage.

Our approach

How we handle this job

Specific to this work rather than a generic checklist bolted onto every page.

  1. 01

    Rule out the free fixes first

    We will tell you on the phone to try the reset button and check the breaker before booking a visit. If that solves it, you have not paid for a call-out.

  2. 02

    Clear a jam properly

    Power isolated, obstruction removed, and the plate freed with the correct wrench from underneath rather than by putting a hand into the chamber.

  3. 03

    Find where a leak actually starts

    Sink flange, dishwasher inlet, discharge connection and housing all leak into the same cabinet. Which one it is decides between a seal and a new unit.

  4. 04

    Replace where it is finished

    A corroded housing or a burnt out motor is a replacement, and we will fit and connect the new one including the dishwasher drain and the discharge to the trap.

Try these two things before you call

We would rather tell you this than take a call-out fee for it.

The reset button. There is one on the underside of almost every disposal, usually red. It trips on overload and leaves the unit completely dead. Press it and try again.

The jam. If the unit hums but does not turn, switch it off at once, because a humming motor that cannot rotate is cooking itself. Most units ship with a small hex wrench that fits a socket in the centre of the base, letting you turn the plate by hand and free whatever is stuck. Never put your hand into the chamber.

Between them, those two checks resolve a large share of the disposal calls we get.

When it is genuinely finished

Leaks are the useful diagnostic. Water from the flange at the sink, the dishwasher inlet or the discharge connection is a seal or a fitting and can be repaired. Water weeping from the body of the unit means the housing has corroded through, and no repair exists for that.

A motor that will not run after the reset and the breaker have both been checked is usually the end too.

A garbage disposal unit and PVC trap being fitted under a kitchen sink

Disposals and old drainage

A disposal grinds waste, it does not remove it. Everything it processes still has to travel through the pipe beyond it.

In the older Lebanon city housing, kitchen waste often runs into cast iron that has already roughened on the inside. Heavy disposal use into a pipe like that is a dependable way to produce recurring blockages, and the disposal usually gets blamed for a problem that lives further down the line.

Questions

Garbage disposal repair questions

Specific to this job. Every service page here has its own, none repeated.

General FAQ

Common questions

My disposal just hums. What does that mean?
The motor is getting power but the grinding plate cannot turn, which means something is jamming it. Switch it off at the wall immediately, because leaving it humming is exactly what burns the motor out and turns a free fix into a replacement. Most units come with a hex wrench that fits a socket in the centre of the underside, which lets you turn the plate manually and free the obstruction.
My disposal is completely dead. Is it finished?
Very often not. There is a reset button, usually red, on the underside of the unit, which trips after an overload. Press it and try again. If that does nothing, check the breaker and the switch. A genuinely dead unit after all three of those is usually a failed motor, but it is well worth spending two minutes on the free checks first, and we will tell you the same thing on the phone.
Water is leaking under my disposal. Can it be repaired?
It depends where it starts. Leaks at the sink flange on top, at the dishwasher inlet, or at the discharge connection to the trap are all seals and connections, and they are repairable. Water coming from the body of the unit itself means the housing has corroded through, and there is no fix for that. Identifying which one you have takes a few minutes with the cabinet dried out.
What should I never put down a disposal?
Grease and oil, which solidify in the line beyond it. Fibrous vegetable waste like celery, corn husks and onion skins, which wrap around the plate. Starchy waste such as pasta, rice and potato peel, which turns to paste. Bones and fruit stones. Coffee grounds, which accumulate and pack down in the trap. Running plenty of cold water while it works, and for a few seconds after, does more for its life than anything else.
Does having a disposal cause drain problems?
It can contribute, particularly on older drainage. A disposal grinds waste finely but does not remove it, so that material still has to travel through pipework that may already be narrowed by grease and scale. On the older cast iron waste lines common in Lebanon city houses, heavy disposal use into a rough-walled pipe is a reliable way to produce recurring blockages. If yours blocks repeatedly, the [drain cleaning page](/services/drain-cleaning/) covers what to look at.
Can you connect my dishwasher to a new disposal?
Yes, and it is a standard part of the installation. One detail catches people out on a self-fit: a new disposal comes with the dishwasher inlet knocked out plug still in place, and if it is not removed the dishwasher cannot drain. It is the single most common cause of a dishwasher failing immediately after a disposal has been replaced.
Do you install disposals in commercial kitchens?
Yes, though commercial units are a different specification and the surrounding requirements differ, particularly around grease interceptors. If you run a commercial kitchen, the interceptor matters far more to your drainage than the disposal does, and neglecting it puts grease straight back into the line whatever the disposal is doing.

Related services

Where we cover for this

All service areas

Ready when you are

Need garbage disposal repair in Lebanon County?

Tell us what is going wrong. We come out, look at it properly, and give you the price before anything starts.

  • Licensed and insured
  • Residential and commercial
  • Price agreed before work starts

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(717) 000-0000

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