Disposals in busy Santee kitchens, from Carlton Hills to Riverwalk, tend to fail in one of three ways. If it hums but doesn't spin, it's usually jammed, which is the easiest fix. If it leaks underneath, it's often a seal or the housing, and that can go either way. If it's completely silent, the problem is usually electrical or the motor, and a dead motor usually means a new unit.
Jams happen when something hard or stringy gets caught between the plate and the grind ring, like a fruit pit, a bit of bone or fibrous peels. The motor hums against it but can't turn. The contractor can clear it with the right tool, reset the unit and check whether the motor or the seals took any damage. Some units come back fine and some don't, and you'll hear which.
If replacement is the answer, you'll hear why. The new unit is sized for how your household actually cooks and connected properly, including the dishwasher line. In older kitchens, the contractor also looks at the drain it connects to, since a new disposal can't do anything about a slow drain. It's all explained in plain English, and the choice is yours.
