A disposal is a small motor doing a hard job. Treated sensibly it lasts years; treated as a bin it jams, leaks and eventually corrodes through.
The four worst offenders
- Grease and cooking fat. It goes down warm and liquid, then cools and sets in the trap beyond the unit. This is behind most of the slow-draining complaints we see.
- Fibrous vegetable skins. Celery, artichoke leaves and onion skins wrap around the impeller rather than breaking up.
- Bones and fruit stones. They do not grind. They rattle, and they chip the impeller.
- Coffee grounds. They pack together into a dense sludge that behaves like wet cement in the drain line.
If it hums but will not turn
That is good news, not bad. A hum means the unit has power and the motor is trying, which is a jam rather than a failure. There is usually a reset button on the underside and a hex socket in the centre of the base for freeing the plate.
When it genuinely needs replacing
If water is leaking from the body of the grinding chamber rather than from a connection, the housing has corroded through. That is not repairable, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a repair that will fail. Leaks at the sink flange or the dishwasher inlet are a different matter and are ordinary fixes.
