We're looking for a reliable plumber to fix our garbage disposal

I just had a problem with my garbage disposal a few months ago and I called my trusted plumber Pelican Plumbers in Berkeley. http://www.pelicanplumbers.com/  They are licensed and they know what they are doing. I was thinking I'd need to replace it - it was 10 years old. When I turned it on it made a spinning noise but didn't grind. The plumber from Pelican fixed it in less than one minute. He told me there is a special tool for disposals that fits on the underside of the thing. You just give it a turn and it clears whatever clog is in there. He said you can buy the tool at Home Deport. So I recommend you try that first, and then call Pelican if that doesn't work!

Eric with Cal Plumbing (510) 229-8022 is an excellent local plumber who is honest and knows his stuff.  Over the years, he has fixed my garbage disposal and shower valve, installed a new water heater/plumbing fixtures/seismic gas valve for neighbors and friends.  He responds to calls quickly, presents options and let's you make the decision at your own pace, does a professional job at a fair price, and cleans up promptly.  You can trust him to do just about any plumbing job inside your home.  

I noticed someone recommended Eric - Cal Plumbing this week and I wanted to post my two cents. I hired Eric about 3 years ago based on his many good reviews on BPN, but I would not use him again.  I had several things I needed fixed, including installing a new toilet and fixing a couple of leaky faucets. He did eventually fix everything, and I don't have any complaints about the quality of his work, but it took multiple visits over a period of a month and a half for him to finish. My most pressing problem was a broken kitchen sprayer but he had to come back 4 times before he fixed it. He would work for 30 or 40 minutes and then say he didn't have time to get to the sprayer but he'd be back the next day. But he didn't come back, so I'd have to follow up with him and schedule another visit.  He didn't remember from one visit to the next which work he'd already completed. I paid him at each visit, but he never gave me an invoice. On his last visit I asked for an invoice for the total work and he had to use the list I had made because he didn't keep track of his visits.  He needed to borrow tools from me, for example needle-nose pliers. He had me order a $250 replacement faucet that turned out not to be the problem. Once he looked at the sink more closely he found it was a different problem. There was a warranty so the parts were no cost to me, but I had spent hours on the phone trying to get them to send me the parts under the warranty.  I also ordered a part for the kitchen sink too, per his instructions, after he and I spent half an hour paging through their website. Eric misplaced the part between the time I gave it to him and the time he eventually got around to fixing it, and declared they had sent the wrong part (they didn't, and he found the part in his tool box.) All in all, not a good experience.

I highly recommend Hanks's Plumbing: 1.800.411.4265. For over 20 years, I have called him whenever we have any plumbing  concerns. He is a skilled, reliable and reasonable plumber. He is on top of my list for Housing professionals.