Garbage disposals on your kitchen sink are a great way to deal with small food scraps that may still be on your plate after a meal. While you don’t want to use your disposal to get rid of large pieces of food, the ability to wash away small bits is an easy way to clean dishes. If you don’t have a garbage disposal on your kitchen sink you can easily install one. Buy one safe for your septic system if you are hooked up to one, otherwise, you can make your decision based on horsepower.
Installation
1. Turn off the power to your kitchen and put a bucket under the kitchen P-trap. Disconnect the pipes and remove sink strainer and any putty. Dump any water that you catch in the bucket and set it aside for later after you connect all of your pipes again.
2. Apply fresh putty around your new drain and press it into place. Stack fiber gasket, backup flange and mounting ring and then slide them onto the flange under the sink. Lock everything into place by using the snap ring. Tighten all screws to ensure that they are firm and remove any excess putty that you may have.
3. Remove the drain plug from the new dishwasher drain. Take off the wire cover plate and connect the electrical cords. Push all the wires back in and put the plate back on to cover them.
4. Now connect the drain by putting the gasket in the discharge outlet. You will need to attach the tube with the bolts and flange. Hang your new disposal and align the three tabs with the ring under the sink. Using a wrench, turn and lock the three tabs over the ridges. Connect your dishwasher drain and ensure that your discharge pipe is lined up properly. When are you connect your drainpipes use a T-pipe before you install your P-pipe.
Testing your disposal is important to make sure that installation went smoothly. Place your sink stopper into the drain and fill your sink with water. Make sure you don’t have any leaks under the sink. Now you can plug in your disposal and make sure that it has power. Always remember to hold onto the small included wrench as you can use it if your disposal ever gets jammed or stuck. This can save you tons of money that you would have to pay to a plumber!
