How To Replace A Kitchen Garbage Disposal
Almost every kitchen comes complete with a garbage disposal, a nifty little gadget that helps you get rid of leftovers from last night’s dinner. They normally work perfectly, offering a simple solution to cleaning off everyone’s plates without having to run back and forth from the trash can. However, sometimes they break. When this happens you are forced to replace it, or forgo this little luxury. Your choices involve hiring someone to take care of the replacement, or changing it out yourself. Since it’s not that difficult to do (given that you have some experience with these things), so you might want to go the cheaper route and do it yourself.
You will probably need to get a few tools for this one. Make sure you have screwdrivers (both Philips and flat head), a wrench, some rags (to clean up the water when you disconnect the pipes), a hammer, and, of course, your new disposal.
The very first step, before anything else, is to buy a replacement garbage disposal. It’s best to get one with the same horse power and even the same brand. There are many out there on the market and prices differ a lot. You can get some as cheap as $60 or as expensive as $400+. For about a hundred dollars you can get a good brand with a medium duty horse power.
After you picked out your new disposal, it’s time to get started. This is a long process and it really helps if you have plumbing or electrical skills. If not, it’s still possible, but you might want to consult a friend with this project. Make sure you clean the area under your sink. The last thing you want is to be working with household cleaning bottles all over the place.
Next you have to disconnect the power supply. This is where those electrical skills come in hand, since you are working near a blade. Just be careful and make sure you know what you are doing. After everything s disconnected, you have to take apart the drainpipe so you can fully remove the old disposal.
After your old one is safely out of the way, take the electrical cord from the old one and attach it to your new one. Again, remember to be cautions when dealing with wires and electric. Now it’s time to reconnect the drainpipe to the new disposal. Just take your wrench and tighten it back up. Finally line your new garbage disposal up and tighten the rings to hold it into place. Reassemble the drainpipe and reconnect your power supply. Now it’s time for the final test! Turn that bad boy on!
If everything went according to plan, you should have a shiny new garbage disposal ready for action. If you have experience with things like this, this should take you about 2 hours or less. It’s a pretty easy project if you know what you are doing and can be done by yourself. Of course, an extra set of hands is sure to make things go by even faster.
