Recommend this article to a friend

Install your own garbage disposal and show your husband you're the Bob Villa of your old house!

Question: How many husbands does it take to install a new garbage disposal?

Answer: If he's mine, one too many.

What has happened to us quite a few times in the past, reared its ugly head again a couple of weeks ago. Our garbage disposal took an indefinite leave of absence.

Normally, this would be no problem. Just call the landlord and let them deal with it. But this time it was different. This time, we are homeowners.

After surmising that the old disposal was probably the house's original disposal, my husband and I decided we had better high-tail it on over to our new-found friends at the local hardware store. With our new disposal in hand, my husband proudly ventured into the kitchen and set about his manly work. The testosterone was puddling all over the kitchen floor.

Unfortunately, that was not all that was puddling all over the kitchen floor, and my husband's pride and determination was effectively squashed when, three hours later, we had no plumbing under the sink, no disposal connected and water everywhere. My husband was positive he had purchased a wrong disposal. What's a supportive wife to do? Kick the husband out of the kitchen and do it herself, that's what!

And that's just what I did. One hour later, we had our new garbage disposal installed and humming like James Taylor. And it really wasn't that hard (I'm still scratching my head and wondering how The Man didn't get it). So, I will tell you how to install a new disposal, woman to woman (or woman to I-don't-know-what-plumbing-looks-like man).

First, a short explanation of the types of disposals available. There are many, many brands out there, and we were told that it was probably best to go with whatever brand you originally had installed, if possible. That way, you are eliminating some work because you can reuse fittings. Also, disposals come in "horse power" terminology. The disposal you probably had in your first apartment (you know, you couldn't look at it for fear it would clog) was probably a 1/4 horse. Your last apartment might have had a slightly sturdier disposal, weighing in at a 1/3 horse power (this was the power size of our old disposal). Your next stop: 1/2 horse, then 3/4 horse and finally, the 1 horse, which I was told will chew bones in nanno-seconds. Our buddies at the hardware store were out of 3/4 horse disposals and there is a wide price range between the 1/2 and the 1 horse, so we stuck with the 1/2 horse (you can find them ranging in price from $50 to $75).

OK, now that we know the brand and the power disposal we need, let's get that puppy under the sink!

Read the directions thoroughly! This is where my husband failed, if you ask me. After you have read them, read them again.

Now, unplug the old disposal and turn the power supply off. You don't want to fry yourself in the process of installing your new disposal.

Take the old disposal off. First, disconnect the plumbing. Ours was fastened with threaded rings, so I just had to unscrew them. You will probably have one going to the water, and one going to the dishwasher. Disconnect both. Now, at the top of the disposal, you will see a series of rings that are holding the disposal up onto the sink (under the sink). One of these rings will have three large ring-type configurations coming off of it. Grab onto one of those configurations and twist the entire ring clockwise. It may be pretty hard to get it to turn, so you may need tools to help you out. You should be able to turn the ring enough so the whole disposal comes right off into your hands.

Once the old disposal is off, now's a good time to clean out the pipes. Now remember, you don't have any plumbing under your kitchen sink so use a different sink! This was my husband's next big mistake (no, I am not kidding!).
If you are attaching your new disposal to your dishwasher line (the plumbing that comes out of the dishwasher to drain the water), you need to unplug the little hole in the new disposal first. To do this, take a screwdriver (flat-head) you don't particularly like, and a hammer and chisel the sucker on out of there. Disposal manufacturers ought to think of a better way to do this, but this is what my instructions told me to do, so this is what I will tell you to do! It doesn't seem right to whack the heck out of a brand-new piece of machinery, but your other option is to overflow the dishwasher, so whack away!

This took me the longest to figure out and do: You have to attach the electrical wiring to the new disposal. I can't believe that disposals don't come with an electrical cord and plug! How silly is that? I understand now why they don't, but it's still silly. It turns out there are two different ways to connect power to your disposal - simply plugging the thing into an ordinary outlet that is powered by the on/off switch by your sink, or connecting it directly to the switch connection. In my case, I was using an outlet under the sink. Your case might be different, so read the directions. If you have an outlet under the sink, here's what you do. First, if you didn't buy a kit at the hardware store, take the electrical cord off the old disposal! If you look under the old disposal, you will see that the cord is going into what appears to be a rather large nut, and next to that is a metal plate. Unscrew the metal plate, and you will see the electrical cord, spliced and connected to the disposal's engine cords.

Now, you need to connect the cord to the new disposal.First, unscrew the metal plate and place the end of the cord through the hole that the nut will be attached to (next to the metal plate). Gently bend those metal tabs back into place on the new disposal. Now, simply splice the wires together, making sure you are connecting the white to the correct wire and the black to the correct wire (if you've never spliced wire before, what you want to do is expose about 1/2 inch of wire on each wire and twist the copper together, sort of creating one wire. Screw the newly-joined wire into a wire nut, or wrap extremely well with electrical tape). Expose about 1/2 inch of the green wire and connect that to the appropriate screw (it should be inside the metal plate opening). Now screw the metal plate back on. Voila!

Now you are ready to install your new disposal. Hopefully, you were able to salvage the mounting rings from the old disposal. If not, follow the diagram in the instructions and attach the mounting rings to the sink, using plumber's putty around the edges to prevent leaking. Now place the actual ring that will fit onto the mounting rings on the new disposal, and fit the rubber stopper on the top of the disposal. Now it's time to get under the sink. You want to mount the disposal onto the sink using the rings. This is tricky, because you are in an akward position and can't see the back of the ring. But be sure all three parts of the mounting ring are connected, and turn all the way counter-clockwise until you here a click. You may need locking pliers or even a hammer to coax the ring into locking position. Reconnect all of the plumbing, making sure to turn all of the threaded rings tight to avoid leaking.

The moment of truth! Plug in your new disposal, turn the power back on, and run cold water in the sink. Check for leaks, and use a sealant if you need to (sometimes all you need to do is retighten the threaded rings). Now, with the water running, turn the new disposal on. It should be humming like a baby! You may want to run your dishwasher to check that you got that dishwasher hole open enough. Now, pat yourself on the back, you did a great job!
See, it really wasn't that difficult, was it? Now go impress everyone you know! And remember, no rocks down the disposal, please!

About the Author: Kristine runs http://www.MyMamaSaid.com, an online community with advice, tips, support and help for all moms, and really did install her garbage disposal all by herself (and her husband really did run the water without any plumbing connected!). Sign up for the MyMamaSaid eNews at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/mymamasaid

Copyright 2000-01, Kristine Roberson