Garbage disposal replacement
Garbage disposal replacement is one of the few jobs in a house where the new unit is cheaper than the diagnosis of the old one. When a disposal hums, leaks from its body or stops responding entirely, the honest recommendation is almost always a new unit rather than a repair. It is plumbing and fixture work under an existing sink, on an existing switched circuit, and it sits inside our kitchen repair service.
Service family Kitchen repair
Scheduling Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Service area Six counties across Southeast Michigan
Phone (734) 540-0347
What replacement involves
Power off at the breaker and the switch, the drain and dishwasher lines disconnected, the old unit twisted off its mounting ring and lowered out, the sink flange cleaned and re bedded, the new mount fitted, the unit hung, the drain re plumbed to fall correctly and everything tested with a full sink of water. The last step is the one people skip and the one that finds leaks.
The switch, the outlet and the plug under the sink
Nearly every disposal here is plugged into a receptacle inside the cabinet, controlled by a switch on the wall or the counter. We reuse both. Where the old unit was hard wired instead of plugged, it gets replaced the same way it was found. Adding a receptacle or moving the switch is electrical work and belongs with outlet and switch replacement or an electrician.
Where our work stops and a licensed trade starts
Fixture and drain work under the sink is ours. Everything on this list goes to a licensed plumbing or electrical contractor, and we say which before the visit rather than during it.
- Re piping a drain inside the wall or under the floor
- Main line and sewer work, including any line that will not clear
- Adding a receptacle or a switch where none exists today
- Panel work, breaker changes and service upgrades
- Anything needing a municipal permit and an inspection
Horsepower, and what you actually need
Three quarter horsepower suits most households and is what we fit unless there is a reason not to. Half horsepower is adequate for one or two people who cook lightly and it jams more often. A full horsepower unit is worth it for a large family, a long drain run or a house where the disposal gets used hard. The grind chamber size matters as much as the motor rating.
Continuous feed and batch feed
Continuous feed is the common type, running while the wall switch is on. Batch feed only runs when a stopper is seated in the opening, which makes it the safer choice in a house with young children because nothing can run with an open throat. It costs more and it is slower to use. We fit either, and we raise batch feed when a childproofing visit is in the conversation.
Mounting rings, and the part that decides the price
Two mounting systems dominate. The three bolt ring, used by one large manufacturer, and a quick mount ring used by most others. Staying within the same family means the new unit hangs on the existing ring in twenty minutes. Crossing families means removing the old flange from the sink, cleaning thirty years of hardened putty off the porcelain and bedding a new one, which adds an hour.
What gets checked before we start
- Existing mount type, and whether the new unit matches it
- Whether the unit is plugged in or hard wired
- Drain height and fall from the disposal to the trap
- The dishwasher drain connection and its high loop
- The cabinet floor below, for staining and soft board
The hum that means a jam
A disposal that hums without turning has a jammed impeller and a motor sitting in overload. That is the one failure worth trying before replacement: power off, hex key into the socket underneath, work the plate loose, reset the button on the base. If it spins freely and runs afterwards, you have saved a unit. If it hums again within a week, the motor is going.
Leaks at the top, the side and the bottom
Where a disposal leaks tells you what it needs. At the sink flange, the putty has failed and can be re bedded. At the side, the dishwasher inlet or the discharge gasket has gone and both are replaceable. From the bottom of the housing, water has found its way through the motor seal and the unit is finished. Bottom leaks get replaced rather than repaired.
The dishwasher connection and the plug nobody knocked out
A new disposal arrives with the dishwasher inlet blocked by a moulded plug that has to be punched out before the hose is connected. Missing that step backs up the dishwasher into the sink, and it is the single most common installation error in this trade. We knock it out, fit the hose with a proper clamp and set the high loop so the drain cannot siphon back.
Septic systems and older drain runs
On a septic system a disposal adds solids that the tank has to handle, and opinions vary. If your house is on septic, we will tell you plainly that a disposal shortens the interval between pump outs and that a compost habit is cheaper. Long horizontal drain runs in older houses are the other caution, because ground waste needs water and fall to move.
Sound, weight and the difference between models
The cheapest units are a thin steel chamber with a small motor and they sound like it. Better ones carry an insulated shell, a stainless grind chamber and more weight, and they run quieter for longer. Weight in your hand is a reasonable proxy for build quality. We will fit whatever you buy and tell you where the money goes if you ask first.
What goes down and what does not
Cold water and a running unit handle most food waste. What ruins a disposal and a drain is fibre and starch: celery, corn husks, artichoke, onion skin, coffee grounds, pasta, rice and potato peel. Grease is the worst of all, because it cools and lines the pipe downstream. None of that is about the unit, and all of it decides how long your drain stays clear.
Cabinet floors that are already wet
A disposal that has leaked slowly for two years has usually taken the cabinet floor with it. Swollen particle board and a stained base are the tells, and the cheapest moment to deal with both is while the cabinet is empty. That work runs through our water damage prevention visits, and it is worth doing before a new unit goes above it.
Drains, faucets and the rest of the cluster
The disposal, the trap, the faucet and the shutoffs all live in one cabinet and all fail within a few years of each other. Booking sink drain repair and kitchen faucet replacement in the same appointment costs far less than three visits, and our minor plumbing repair crew comes ready for all of it.
How long the visit takes
A same family swap on an existing ring is under an hour. A mount change with old putty to clean off runs two. A unit that has been leaking into the cabinet for years turns into a longer conversation. Landlords doing rental turnover repairs, buyers with a new homeowner package and sellers clearing home inspection repairs all bundle it.
Book garbage disposal replacement with our crew
If yours hums, weeps from the bottom or has stopped altogether, send us the model number off the label underneath and we can usually quote it before we arrive. We cover Belleville and the wider area, and an annual home check keeps the whole cabinet honest. View our Portfolio, then contact us now for a free quote.
