A garbage disposal is one of the most essential appliances in the kitchen. Over time, however, problems will arise. Due to wear and tear as well as maintenance issues, your garbage disposal can have issues like clogging and leaking. Garbage disposal leaks can come from different parts of unit. If the leak is located at the top, it can be the sink flange. At the sides, the leak must be coming from the drain pipe.
However, if water is leaking from the bottom, particularly from the reset button, there are two reasons for this. Either there is a crack in the body and rust has accumulated or the flywheel gasket needs to be replaced. If the problem is caused by the former, the only solution for this is garbage disposal replacement. Conversely, if the issue is the flywheel, there is no need to replace the unit.
In replacing the flywheel seal, you need to manually remove the garbage disposal to replace the old seal with the new one. Here are the steps to do:
Step 1: Turn off the water supply and ensure that the power of the unit is turned off as well, both from the under the sink and the circuit breaker panel.
Step 2: Remove the connection from the drain pipe and if it is connected to a dishwasher, remover the connection as well.
Step 3: Remove the garbage disposal from under the sink. It is important to note that underneath the sink, located on the top of the disposal are three items to get familiar with. These are the black hose, a ring that can either be silver or orange with three loops and a tubular pipe that connects the unit to the p-trap. A p-trap is a part of the pipe that is shaped like the letter “P”. It is so designed to trap the odor that might seep from the septic tank and cause an unpleasant smell in the house.
Step 4: Disconnect the black house located at the top with a hexagon nut driver. This should be easy to loosen but if not, just give it a twist. Afterwards, remove the tubular pipe which goes to the drain at a 90 degree angle. To remove this, loosen the screws that hold it in place. This will separate the pipe from the disposal slightly.
Step 5: Go back to the ring located at the top of the garbage disposal which connects the unit to the sink. With a hex wrench, loosen the rings by turning one of the loops counter-clockwise. Ensure that you are securely holding the bottom of the appliance to keep it from dropping. The unit can be heavy and can weigh around 15 lbs. This will expose the flywheel rubber seal.
Step 6: Remove the seal and take it to the nearest hardware store to get the exact replacement.
Step 7: Replace the broken seal with the new one and reinstall the garbage disposal by doing the reverse of the steps in removing the unit.
Step 8: Check if he leak is fixed. Plug the power cord and turn on the electrical supply coming from the circuit breaker and connected to the garbage disposal. Turn on the water supply and turn the disposal power on while letting running water flow.
