Garbage disposal humming but not working? Try this first
A garbage disposal that hums but does not spin is jammed, not broken. The motor is trying to turn and something is stopping it. Half the disposal calls I get in Charlotte end with a fix the homeowner could have done in five minutes, so here is exactly what I do, in order.
First, cut the power
Unplug the disposal under the sink or flip its breaker. The hum means the motor is live, and you are about to put a tool near the blades. Never reach into the chamber with your hand, powered or not. A flashlight and tongs handle anything that needs grabbing.
The hex wrench trick
Look at the very bottom center of the disposal body under the sink. There is a hex socket, and most units ship with a small hex wrench for it, usually 1/4 inch. Insert the wrench and work it back and forth until it rotates a full turn freely. You are manually breaking the jam. Pull out whatever caused it with tongs, usually a bone shard, a fruit pit, or a stray spoon.
The red reset button
Still nothing after clearing the jam? Press the red reset button, also on the bottom of the unit. The motor has a thermal overload that trips when it stalls, and the button pops out when that happens. Push it in, restore power, run cold water, and test. Between the wrench and the button, most humming disposals come back to life without a service call.
When it is actually dead
If the unit trips the reset repeatedly, leaks from the bottom seam, or does nothing at all with power confirmed, the motor or seals are done. A disposal swap in Charlotte runs $200 to $450 including a mid-range unit as part of a fixture install visit. If the drain also backs up when the disposal runs, the clog is past the unit, and that is a drain cleaning job rather than a disposal problem.
One habit that prevents most of these calls: run cold water before, during, and for ten seconds after grinding, and keep fibrous stuff like celery and corn husks in the trash.