Same-Day Service
Jammed, humming, leaking, or completely dead? We repair and replace every major brand — InSinkErator, Waste King, Moen, KitchenAid, Whirlpool — across Minneapolis, Saint Paul, the Twin Cities, and Central MN. Same-day windows. $149 trip fee credited toward the repair when you approve it. 1-year written warranty on every job.
Same-day windows
Call early, 7am–9pm every day.
Disposals on truck
Badger, Evolution, Pro, Waste King.
1-year warranty
Parts and labor in writing.
$149 trip fee
Credited to the repair.
Quick answer
Jam clears and resets are $149–$185 all-in. A full disposal replacement (OEM 3/4 HP or 1 HP, hardwire or cord, dishwasher inlet) runs $285–$525. We stock InSinkErator Badger, Evolution, and Pro plus Waste King Legend units on the truck, so most calls can finish on the first visit. Every job carries a 1-year written warranty.
What's wrong
Flywheel jammed by silverware, bone, fruit pit, or hardened food. The motor is fine but the flywheel can't rotate. We clear the jam, restore rotation, and reset the thermal-overload breaker on the bottom of the unit.
$149–$185 · 30–45 min
Tripped thermal-overload breaker (red reset button on the bottom), failed wall switch, failed cord/hardwire connection, or a burned-out motor. We test all four in sequence and quote the fix.
$149–$285 · 30–60 min
Failed internal seal — water has reached the motor housing. Almost never repairable; the disposal needs to be replaced. We do the swap in one visit and warranty the install.
$285–$525 install · 60–90 min
Sink-flange plumber's putty or gasket has failed, or the mounting ring backed off. We reseat the flange with fresh putty, retorque the mounting ring, and verify drain seals.
$185–$285 · 45–60 min
Dishwasher hose clamp loose or the rubber hose has split. Common after a dishwasher repair where the hose was disturbed. Quick fix.
$149–$185 · 20–30 min
Loose mounting ring, foreign object lodged against the flywheel, or worn impeller bearings. Older InSinkErator Badger units past 8 years often start vibrating as the bearings wear.
$185–$485 · 45–90 min
P-trap or drain branch clogged downstream of the disposal — not the disposal itself. We pull the P-trap, clear the clog, and verify drain flow. If the dishwasher drain is shared (typical), we check that too.
$185–$285 · 45–75 min
Brands we service
FAQs
A jam clear and reset is $149–$185 all-in (parts + labor + the flat $149 trip fee, which is credited to the work). A full disposal replacement — including a quality OEM 3/4 HP or 1 HP unit, hardwire or cord, and dishwasher-inlet plumbing — runs $285–$525. We give you a written quote before any work begins.
Same-day windows are available across the Twin Cities and Central MN, 7am–9pm every day — call early for a same-day window. We carry replacement disposals (InSinkErator Badger 5, Evolution Excel, Pro 750), sink flange kits, dishwasher-inlet hose, and standard wiring on every truck.
Repair if: jammed flywheel, tripped breaker, failed wall switch, leaking flange (top), or loose dishwasher inlet — those are sub-$285 fixes. Replace if: leaking from the bottom (failed internal seal), loud bearing whine on a 8+ year old unit, motor won't turn after a clean reset, or the unit is undersized for the household. We'll tell you straight on-site.
For a standard Twin Cities home we install the InSinkErator Badger 5 (1/2 HP, contractor-grade) or Evolution Compact (3/4 HP, much quieter) most often. For a busy kitchen with frequent disposal use we recommend the InSinkErator Evolution Excel (1 HP, MultiGrind, very quiet) or Pro 750 (3/4 HP). For luxury kitchens with high-end finishes we install the InSinkErator Pro line or the Waste King Legend 8000.
Humming-but-not-turning means the motor is energized but the flywheel is jammed. The most common jams are silverware, fruit pits (avocado, peach, cherry), small bones, or hardened food. Don't keep hitting the wall switch — the motor will overheat and trip the thermal-overload breaker on the bottom of the unit. We clear the jam with the appropriate hex key, restore rotation, and reset the breaker.
Leaks from the top (flange) or the dishwasher inlet are plumbing fixes — no electrical hazard. A leak from the bottom housing is different: water has reached the motor, which is an electrical-safety issue and the unit must be replaced. Shut off the breaker until we arrive if water is dripping from the bottom of the unit.
A standard 1/2 HP InSinkErator Badger lasts 8–12 years with normal household use. A 3/4 HP or 1 HP Evolution / Pro / Waste King Legend lasts 12–17 years. Cold water during grinding, avoiding fibrous food (celery, corn husks, potato peels in bulk), and running the disposal regularly (sealed bearings dry out from disuse) all extend the life.
Both. Most Twin Cities homes are wired hardwire (no plug — the disposal is wired directly to the wall switch); newer kitchens sometimes have a switched outlet under the sink for a cord-connect install. We bring both options and confirm which your wiring supports before quoting.
$149 flat, credited toward the work when you approve the repair or replacement. You always get a written quote before we touch tools to the disposal.
Yes — every disposal repair and every disposal replacement carries a 1-year written parts-and-labor warranty. On replacement units we also pass through the manufacturer's warranty (InSinkErator: 2–10 years depending on model; Waste King: 5–8 years). Same failure inside our 1-year window, we come back free of charge.
Yes, but the unit needs to be septic-rated and you need to be selective about what you grind. We install the InSinkErator Evolution Septic Assist (with bio-charge injector) for homes on septic. Grind small quantities only and run plenty of water — high-volume disposal use overloads septic bacterial action and shortens tank pump-out intervals.
Three common causes when a disposal is in the loop: the disposal knockout plug was never removed at install (new disposals ship with the dishwasher inlet plugged, so the knockout must be removed at install or the dishwasher cannot drain), the dishwasher inlet hose has a kink, or the P-trap downstream of the disposal is clogged. We diagnose all three on-site.
Yes — the mounting flange systems are slightly different (InSinkErator uses 3-bolt; Waste King uses EZ-Mount snap-in), but we carry adapter kits on the truck and can convert in either direction in one visit.
We service light-commercial disposals (small cafés, dental offices, salon break rooms, churches) on the standard residential rate. Heavy-commercial restaurant disposals (3-phase, 2+ HP commercial units) are quoted separately.
Related repairs
A garbage disposal is a small, powerful electric motor sitting on top of a grinding chamber. The motor turns a plate with two swiveling lugs. Those lugs push food against a stationary shredder ring, and the water running through the disposal flushes the small pieces out into the drain. There are no knives to sharpen. The system relies on the speed of the plate, the strength of the motor and a steady flow of water. If one of those three is off, the disposal struggles.
Knowing that makes the common failures easy to understand. A disposal that hums and does not spin has a jam between the plate and the ring. A disposal that does nothing at all has lost power, either at the switch, the wiring, a tripped overload or the motor. A disposal that drains slowly or backs up has a downstream clog, not a failed motor. And a disposal that leaks from the lower housing has a failed seal and is finished. The rest of this page covers the things that are less obvious: what should and should not go down the drain, how the disposal connects to the dishwasher, and what a good installation looks like.
If you want to look at specific symptoms, we have separate pages on a humming disposal and a leaking disposal.
Most disposal calls start with something that should not have gone down. These are the usual offenders, and why they cause trouble.
They are liquid when hot and solid when cold. They coat the drain pipe and build into a plug further down, which then backs up into the disposal and the dishwasher. This is behind many drain complaints.
Celery, corn husks, artichoke leaves, onion skins and potato peels in large amounts wrap around the grinding parts or form a mat in the pipe. Small amounts with plenty of water are fine.
Pasta, rice and oats absorb water and expand in the drain. A handful is usually fine. A bowl of leftover rice can turn into a paste that blocks the trap.
They clump and settle in the trap and the horizontal runs. Put them in the compost or the trash.
Small soft bones can pass. Larger bones, peach and avocado pits and hard shells can jam the plate and damage the shredder ring.
Bottle caps, glass, twist-ties and silverware get in by accident, and the sink strainer is the best defense. Never reach in with your hand.
In most kitchens the dishwasher drains through the disposal. A small hose runs from the dishwasher to a short side inlet on the disposal. That connection is the source of two very common calls.
The first is the knockout plug. A new disposal ships with a thin molded plug inside the dishwasher inlet, so that the inlet stays closed when no dishwasher is attached. When a disposal is installed in a kitchen with a dishwasher, the plug has to be removed, and the pieces taken out of the chamber. If it is left in place, the dishwasher fills, washes and then cannot drain. Water may show up in the dishwasher tub, or come back into the sink. Many people assume the dishwasher pump has failed. The disposal plug is the cause, and it is a short fix. Our dishwasher not draining page shows how it fits into the larger picture.
The second is the high loop or air gap. The dishwasher hose should rise toward the underside of the counter before it drops to the disposal, or it should pass through an air gap on the sink, depending on the installation and local code. Either arrangement prevents sink water from flowing back toward the dishwasher. When the arrangement is missing or the hose has sagged, gray water can slide back into the tub, and a clogged air gap can stop the dishwasher draining altogether. We check the hose, the loop and the air gap whenever a dishwasher and a disposal share a drain.
A smell that returns after cleaning usually comes from food residue on the underside of the splash guard and the chamber walls, or from a slow drain that leaves food in the trap. Ice cubes and coarse salt can scrub the chamber. A rubber splash guard that is torn or slick with film is better replaced.
Something hard is loose in the chamber, such as a bottle cap or a piece of bone. Turn off the power at the breaker and use a flashlight and tongs, not your hand, to remove it.
Worn motor bearings. If the unit is past its prime, replacement is usually more economical than repair.
On a double sink, water that rises on the other side while the disposal runs points to a partial clog in the shared drain line, not a bad disposal.
The clog is in the trap or the pipe below. A new disposal will not fix it.
Run cold water, not hot, when grinding, so fats stay solid and move through the line. In an older home with a sink on an exterior wall, a very cold cabinet can slow drains in a deep freeze. Keep the cabinet door open on the coldest nights if the pipes are exposed.
Mineral deposits build on the chamber and the splash guard and can add to odors. A regular clean helps.
Outside the city, many homes use septic. A disposal adds solids to the tank, so tell us if you are on septic before we choose a unit. The septic question in this page's FAQ covers what we install.
In multi-unit buildings a persistent drain problem may be in the shared stack. If the sink backs up at the same time as a neighbor's, call the building manager.
Not every sink problem needs an appliance technician. This table helps you choose.
| Symptom | Likely owner of the problem | Who to call |
|---|---|---|
| Hum, no spin, tripped reset | Disposal | Us |
| Dead disposal, no hum | Switch, wiring or motor | Us |
| Leak from the bottom or the side | Disposal | Us |
| Leak at the top flange or the dishwasher hose | Disposal connection | Us |
| Sink drains slowly with the disposal off | Trap or drain line | A plumber, or us if it is the disposal connection |
| Water backs up in the dishwasher | Knockout plug, loop or drain line | Us |
Our $149 trip fee is credited toward the repair when you approve it. If the problem is clearly in the drain line, we tell you so.
With the power off, scrub the splash guard with a brush and dish soap. Then run cold water and grind a handful of ice cubes and a little coarse salt. Our garbage disposal care guide has more tips.
No. Chemicals can damage seals and are dangerous if you later have to work on the drain. Use a plunger or call a professional.
No. It points to a switch or wiring fault. Turn off the power at the breaker and call us.
No. The two are separate. We can replace the disposal and make sure the dishwasher drain is correct. For the dishwasher itself, see dishwasher repair.
