What People Call About
Three symptoms, and one of them you may be able to clear yourself.
Why Disposals Get Replaced and Not Repaired
Worth explaining properly, because "we don't repair those" sounds like a dodge until you know why.
Corrosion decides most of it
Disposals sit under a sink getting wet from the inside for a decade. When one starts leaking from the body, the housing has rusted through, and there is nothing to fix. That's the most common end for a disposal and it's the clearest replacement case there is.
The parts that can be changed are the parts that rarely fail. Splash guards, mounting rings and drain elbows can be replaced, and occasionally one of those is genuinely the problem. But they aren't what people call about, and they aren't what fails.
Jams are the exception, and they're not a failure at all
A jammed disposal is a working disposal with something stuck in it. That's a short job, often one you can do yourself, and it's the reason not to assume yours is dead. The five-minute check is below.
What This Service Covers
Worth knowing before you call:
Plumbing beyond the disposal itself. If the drain is backing up or the plumbing under the sink is damaged, that's a plumber.
Hauling the old unit away. It gets disconnected and left with you.
If you'd rather buy the unit yourself, that's completely fine and quite common. Have it under the sink when Aaron arrives.
Choosing the Replacement
Aaron's general view on appliances applies here as much as anywhere: a basic model with fewer features has less to go wrong. The rest of this section is general to the appliance.
On disposals the thing that actually matters is motor size against how you cook. A household that puts a lot through it is better served by a larger motor; a household that uses it occasionally is not buying anything useful by going bigger.
The other genuine difference is how the unit is mounted, because a replacement that matches your existing mounting ring is a shorter job than one that doesn't. Tell us what you have and you'll get a straight answer on what to buy, whether or not we end up supplying it.
Repair or replace, appliance by appliance→
What It Costs
The $100 service call covers the trip and the diagnosis and comes off the job when you go ahead.
What moves the total is whether Aaron supplies the unit or you do. If you've bought your own and it's under the sink when he arrives, you're paying for the labor and nothing else.
You get one all-in figure before anything starts. If the answer turns out to be a jam rather than a dead disposal, the job stops there and you pay for the visit, not for a replacement you didn't need.
We offer a 10% military discount to active-duty service members and veterans as a thank-you for your service. Mention it when you call.
Exclusions to the 90-day warranty are listed in full on the FAQs.
How the Visit Goes
The Allen Key in the Bottom of Your Disposal
Almost every garbage disposal has a hex socket in the center of its underside, and a small Allen key that came in the box and is now in a drawer somewhere. Most people have no idea either exists.
That socket lets you turn the grinding plate by hand. If your disposal hums but won't turn, it is usually jammed rather than dead, and turning the plate back and forth with an allen key frees whatever is wedged in there. A bone, a cherry stone, a bottle cap, a teaspoon.
The sequence is: switch it off at the wall, put the allen key into the socket underneath, work it back and forth until it turns freely, fish out whatever comes loose, then press the reset button on the underside, if yours has one. Not every model does. A large share of dead disposals come back to life at that point.
If the allen key doesn't free it, or it frees and then jams again immediately, or there's water coming from the body of the unit, then it's genuinely finished and that's when to call.
If You Are on Septic, Jefferson County Has a Rule About This
Plenty of houses in the northern half of this service area are on septic rather than sewer, and a garbage disposal is one of the few kitchen appliances that changes what your septic system is required to be.
Dishwasher inlet, drain and leak checksTrussville is the one town whose utility publishes descaling advice of its own
What Customers Say
Every review Aaron has, live from Google, in the customer's own words and under their own name.
Questions We Get Asked
Can you repair my disposal instead of replacing it?
Genuinely not, and the reason is above: the motor and the grinding chamber are one sealed unit. What can be fixed is a jam, and that's worth trying yourself first.
It hums but doesn't turn. Is it dead?
Probably not. There is a five-minute check above, and it works more often than you'd expect.
Can I buy the disposal myself?
Yes, and plenty of people do. Have it under the sink when Aaron arrives and you're paying for labor only.
It's leaking. Is that fixable?
Depends where from. A leak at the top mounting ring is sometimes fixable; a leak from the body of the unit means the housing has corroded and that one is finished.
Do you take the old one away?
No, it gets disconnected and left with you.
What if the problem turns out to be the plumbing?
Then it's a plumber, and you'll be told that instead of being sold a disposal that wouldn't have fixed it.
What does the warranty cover?
Ninety days on labor, and on the unit if we supplied it. If you bought it yourself the labor is warranted and the unit carries whatever the seller gave you. Full exclusions on the FAQs.
Should I get a half or a three-quarter horsepower disposal?
Horsepower is not actually what decides how well one grinds, which surprises most people. The manufacturers rate their own models by grind stages, and the two do not track together: there is a three-quarter horsepower model with one grinding stage and another three-quarter horsepower model with two. More stages is what produces a finer grind and fewer clogs. Tell Aaron what you put down it and he will tell you which way to spend the money.
I am on septic. Is a disposal a problem?
It is a question worth asking before you replace one rather than after. Jefferson County sizes septic tanks differently for houses with a disposal and houses without, and the county also wants tanks with a disposal checked yearly rather than every three to five years.
Is it an easy job to do myself?
It is more approachable than most appliance work and it is still the one people regret. The unit is heavy, it goes on over your head in a cupboard, and the two things that go wrong are the mounting ring not seating and the dishwasher inlet knockout not being punched out, which floods the cabinet the first time you run a cycle. If you are confident under a sink, it is a real option. The service call exists for when you are not.
Where We Work, and How to Reach Us
Disposal replacement across greater Birmingham. Most of these jobs are north of the city, around Gardendale and Fultondale, but the van goes Over the Mountain most weeks too.
Call or text (205) 883-9703. Tell us whether it hums, whether it leaks, and whether you've already tried the allen key.
Calls and texts Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Saturday calls are usually answered; Sunday goes to voicemail.
Every town we cover