Garbage Disposal Repair
in Palmdale, Lancaster & Santa Clarita, CA

The answer narrows things down quickly. A hum, a click, silence and a puddle under the sink all point to different problems.

Brock Plumbing is a family-owned local plumbing company with licensed technicians, offering Garbage Disposal Repair in the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita Valley (Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Santa Clarita, Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country and Stevenson Ranch). Every job starts with an upfront written estimate, and we charge by the job, not by the hour.

Brock Plumbing provides garbage disposal repair across the Antelope Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley in northern Los Angeles County.

Common Disposal Problems and What Causes Them

It Hums but Does Not Spin

The motor is getting power but the grinding plate is stuck, usually on a bone, a fruit pit, a bottle cap or a piece of silverware. Turn it off right away, because a stalled motor overheats. Most units have a hex socket on the bottom that lets the plate be turned by hand to free the jam.

It Does Nothing at All

Check the red reset button on the bottom of the unit first, since the thermal overload trips after a jam or a long run. After that the suspects are the circuit breaker, the wall switch, a loose plug or a motor that has failed.

It Leaks

Where the water appears tells us where the problem is. A leak at the top usually means the sink flange seal. At the side, it is often the dishwasher hose connection or the discharge elbow gasket. Water dripping from the bottom of the housing generally means the unit has corroded through internally and needs replacing.

It Drains Slowly or Backs Up

A disposal can only push waste as far as the trap and the drain line allow. Grease, coffee grounds, rice and fibrous peels tend to settle in the trap or further down the line, which is a job for drain cleaning rather than a new disposal.

Disposal Repairs in Palmdale, Lancaster and Quartz Hill Kitchens

A jammed, humming or leaking disposal is a common kitchen call for us in Palmdale, Lancaster and Quartz Hill.

Garbage Disposals in Palmdale, CA

Much of Palmdale is on city sewer, but some properties on the outskirts use septic systems. A disposal sends extra solids to a septic tank, so on those homes we talk about whether a disposal makes sense at all and how it affects pumping. Hard water also leaves scale in and around the unit over time. More on our Palmdale page.

Garbage Disposals in Lancaster, CA

In Lancaster, a disposal problem often turns out to be a drain problem. Kitchens in older homes near the city core may still have original drain piping under the sink and in the wall, and years of buildup in those lines make a healthy disposal look like a failing one. We check both before recommending a new unit. See our Lancaster page.

Fixing and Replacing Disposals in Saugus, Valencia and Newhall

We repair and replace disposals in Saugus, Valencia, Newhall, Canyon Country and Stevenson Ranch as well.

Garbage Disposals in Santa Clarita, CA

Many Santa Clarita kitchens in townhomes and condos share drain stacks with neighboring units, so a disposal pushing a clog down the line can become a shared headache. Getting the trap, the dishwasher connection and the disposal working together properly matters more here than in a detached house. Our Santa Clarita page covers the rest of our services.

Repair or Replace?

Jams, tripped resets, loose connections and flange leaks are repairs. A unit that leaks from its body, has a burned-out motor or has been grinding for many years with rust showing inside is usually better replaced, because a new disposal costs less than chasing a string of failures in an old one. When we replace a disposal we match the mounting to your sink, reconnect the dishwasher drain properly and check the trap and vent so the new unit drains the way it should.

What a Replacement Visit Looks Like

We shut off power to the unit at the breaker, disconnect the drain and dishwasher lines, and drop the old disposal out of its mounting ring. If the sink flange is worn, pitted or has been leaking, we replace it with the new mounting hardware rather than reusing old parts. The new unit goes up, the discharge tube is lined up with the trap so it drains downhill, and the dishwasher inlet is opened and reconnected.

Then we test. We run water through the sink, run the disposal, and cycle the dishwasher drain to be sure nothing weeps at any joint. We also check whether the trap and the drain line beyond it are clear, because a new disposal feeding into a half-blocked pipe will look like a bad install within a week. Before we leave we show you where the reset button and hex socket are, so a future jam is a two-minute fix instead of a service call. If the outlet under the sink is not grounded or the switch is failing, we tell you so you can have an electrician look at it.

What Not to Put Down a Disposal

• Cooking grease and oil, which cool and stick further down the line
• Coffee grounds and eggshells, which settle like sand in the trap
• Rice, pasta and bread, which swell with water
• Stringy peels such as celery, onion skins and corn husks
• Bones, fruit pits and anything that is not food

For other kitchen plumbing, from faucets to supply lines, see our residential plumbing service.