Mamba Drainage Services
Garburator Installation Vancouver
Humming but not spinning. Water backing up into the dishwasher. A slow drip into the cabinet that has been going on for a year. Most garburator calls are not a dead appliance, they are an install error finally catching up.
InSinkErator and Waste King installs, replacements, jam clears and removals across Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey and Delta.
Need a garburator in Vancouver?
The garburator, called a garbage disposal south of the border and a food waste disposer in the code books, is one of the hardest working appliances in a Vancouver kitchen and one of the most often mis-installed. Most of what we get called out to is not a failed unit. It is an install error from a previous plumber that took a few years of ordinary use to show itself.
The failure modes are predictable. A seized motor because food debris jammed the impeller, which is about 90 percent of the calls that come in as a broken garburator. A mounting flange leak because the rubber gasket went in crooked. A dishwasher drain plug that was never punched out, which is the leading cause of dishwasher backups in Vancouver kitchens because the water simply has nowhere to go. A splash guard worn through after five to seven years. A jam where the discharge tube meets the P-trap. Or a flywheel seal that has given up after years of wet running.
Half of those are maintenance or installation, not the appliance. So we diagnose first and fix what is actually wrong instead of selling a unit nobody needs. A lot of these calls end as an Allen wrench jam clear and a conversation, not a replacement.
What we install. InSinkErator Badger 5 at half a horsepower, Evolution Compact at three quarters, Evolution Excel at one horsepower, and the Waste King L-2600 and L-8000. For tight under sink space in Olympic Village and Kerrisdale condos the Evolution Compact is around 20 percent shorter than a Badger 5 and fits where a standard unit will not. For a big family cooking at volume, the Excel or the L-8000 handles the load without bogging down.
Strata rules come first. A lot of Vancouver concrete buildings cap garburators at half a horsepower because of the shared horizontal drain stack. We confirm what your building allows before the install rather than after, and we stock the compliant units.
What your garburator is telling you
Match the symptom to the cause before anybody talks about a new unit.
- It hums but the impeller will not turn, which is a jam, usually silverware, a fruit pit or a bone nobody noticed going in
- Nothing happens at all, which is the red reset button on the underside, the wall switch, the GFCI or the cord, in that order
- Water backing up into the dishwasher, which means the side inlet knockout was never punched at the original install
- A slow drip into the cabinet under the sink, which is dried out plumber’s putty at the mounting flange
- Back splash out of the sink opening when it runs, which is a worn splash guard
- A smell that comes back no matter how much you flush it, which is food fermenting in the folds of that same splash guard
- A kitchen sink that drains slowly even though the unit runs fine, which puts the problem past the P-trap in the branch line
How we put one in
What Vancouver customers say
Ryan was great! My landlord called him to fix my blocked kitchen sink. He showed up the same day (on a Sunday) and fixed the problem. He even cleaned the sink and dried up all the water that had leaked before he got there. And he was very careful coming in and out of the house so my cat wouldn’t get out. I’d definitely recommend him.
Ryan is INCREDIBLE. He has been responding to all of us (four houses and families!) affected by a sewage back up. This is all on Boxing Day and beyond, in terrible weather full of ice, cold and rain. He is so knowledgeable, and knew what was needed right away. Just the top of his field I am sure. As well as that, he is incredibly calm, respectful, kind and fair. I am truly amazed by this person's capacity and competence in combination with his noble, calm presence in the face of a real mess. Thank you Ryan, so very much!
I had very positive experience with Mamba Services, Ryan was amazing to work with and took care of my drain issues in no time. He arrived on time, was very professional and efficient in carrying out the work. What impressed me was how honest he was in recommending needed repair. He was very patient in explaining the different options. I will certainly call them for future projects.
Had an excellent experience. Ryan was fantastic, it was an after hours call late in the evening and he showed up exactly in the time frame he gave. Took care of the kitchen sink issue within minutes all systems were running like new. Pricing was extremely reasonable, Ryan was patient and explained everything to me while fixing my problem. I would highly recommend this company for any plumbing work.
Ryan was efficient, experienced, and knowledgeable. He was able to squeeze me into his schedule with short notice and wasted no time with my appointment. He arrived on site inspected the issue, and was quickly at work with resolving the problem. I am very pleased with his service and honesty. He provided recommendations that will help assist me in future occurrences.
Nine garburator tips every Vancouver homeowner should know
- Cold water only. Hot water melts grease and sends it down the trap arm as a liquid, where it cools and sets. Cold water keeps it solid so the impellers shred it before it ever leaves the chamber.
- Run the water before and after, not just during. The first run primes the chamber and the second flushes the shredded waste past the P-trap so it does not sit there and ferment.
- Keep potato peels, eggshells, pasta, rice and coffee grounds out of it. Peels and rice set like cement in the trap. Grounds and pasta turn into a paste that blocks the discharge. All of it belongs in the green bin, which City of Vancouver curbside picks up.
- Run ice and rock salt through it once a month. A handful of each with the water running cleans the impellers and knocks the smell back. It costs nothing and it works better than anything you can buy for it.
- Citrus peel is the free deodoriser. Lemon or orange rind once a week does the job. Skip grapefruit, it is too fibrous and it jams the impeller.
- Reset button first, always. The red button on the underside of the unit trips more often than people realise. Give it a moment after popping it before you test again. It saves a service call about half the time.
- Never put a hand in the disposal, even with the power off. Tongs or needle nose pliers for anything stuck, and cut the breaker before you reach in for something stubborn.
- A backing up dishwasher is usually the disposal. The discharge tube ties into the side inlet, and if that knockout was never punched the water has nowhere to go. We drop the elbow, punch the plug and put it back together.
- Check your strata bylaws before buying a one horsepower unit. Plenty of Vancouver concrete buildings allow half a horsepower only because of shared stack capacity. We will confirm your building over the phone before anything gets ordered.
Phones answered 24/7
Humming but not spinning?
Hit the red reset button on the underside of the unit first. If that does not do it, an Allen wrench in the bottom shaft slot clears most jams. If neither works, call us before you go shopping for a new one.
Garburator FAQ, Vancouver
InSinkErator Badger 5, Evolution Compact and Evolution Excel, plus Waste King L-2600 and L-8000. All of them carry a real manufacturer warranty, 3 to 7 years depending on the model. We do not push the cheap brands because we are the ones who come back to them.
Most can, some cannot. Older Vancouver concrete buildings sometimes restrict them because of shared horizontal drain capacity, and some cap the horsepower. Check your bylaws, or tell us the building on the phone and we will confirm the restriction before we schedule anything.
Usually not. Around 80 percent of the broken units we visit just need the jammed impeller freed with an Allen wrench from the bottom shaft slot. The diagnostic is part of the visit, so you are not paying to find that out.
Nearly always because the disposal install missed the dishwasher knockout. The inlet plug was never punched, so the dishwasher has nowhere to drain and it pools in the tub. We drop the elbow, punch the plug and clear the line.
Yes. Plenty of Vancouver homeowners go disposal free for simpler plumbing or to satisfy a strata bylaw. We remove the unit, fit a basket strainer and rebuild the under sink drain. Green bin food waste is the City of Vancouver preferred method regardless.
One year workmanship warranty on Mamba labour. Manufacturer warranty runs 1 to 7 years on InSinkErator depending on the model and 2 to 10 years on Waste King. Both documents get emailed when the install closes.
Citrus peel weekly and an ice and rock salt cycle monthly. If the smell survives that, the splash guard has degraded and is holding food in its folds. Replacing the guard clears it, and old food in that guard is the single biggest source of chronic disposal odour.
Yes, and it is one of our more common combination jobs. P-trap, disposal, dishwasher tie in, supply lines and a faucet check, quoted as one under sink rebuild. If the spout or the sprayer is part of the problem, our faucet repair page covers that side.
Then the problem is past the P-trap in the branch line, and it is almost always grease. We snake or hydro jet that branch back to the main, and a camera goes down it if it has happened more than once.
24/7 EMERGENCY DISPATCH
Water where it should not be?
Ryan picks up. Live dispatch, and you get a real arrival window on the call.