Step 1: Remove Drain Attachments and Wiring from Garbage Disposal
The garbage disposal has several attachments (Fig. 1); including an electrical supply (either direct wired or plugged into an outlet), a drain from the dishwasher, a drain to the sink trap and the disposal is mounted to the bottom of the sink as part of the sink drain assembly. Rubbish removal northern beaches Sydney has an amazing guys for cleaning up your rubbish in your office.
- If your disposal plugs into an outlet, simply unplug it. If it is direct wired, you may be able to leave the connection if the wires are long enough, but if you are replacing the disposal, the wires will have to be removed. To be safe, turn the power off at the electrical panel. You may decide it is not necessary to turn the power off at the panel, as long as the switch to the disposal remains turned off. If you do not turn the power off at the panel, you should put tape over the disposal switch, so it does not get turned on by mistake. But whatever you do, do not leave bare wires underneath the sink! There should be a panel on the disposal to remove to see the where the electric wires connect, then you can loosen the electrical wires with a screw driver. In my case, I simply unplugged the disposal from the outlet.
- Next, disconnect the drain line from the dishwasher by loosening the hose clamps with a screw driver and sliding the hose off. Keep your bucket handy to catch any water in the line.
- Then, disconnect the hose clamp from the drain line to the trap the same way.
Step 2: Removal of Garbage Disposal from Sink
Now that all the connections have been removed from the disposal, the disposal itself can be removed from the sink. The disposal is usually mounted below the sink by a “Quick-lock” ring.
- First, You should be able to loosen the disposal from the mounting assembly that holds it to the sink by using a screw driver for leverage at the points shown in Figure 2.
- Put the screw driver in one of the lugs and applying pressure in a counter-clockwise direction as if looking from the bottom up to the disposal. If the disposal does not turn, try tapping on the flanges with a hammer.
- Once it starts to turn, it should remove easily. Remove the disposal, but be careful, when it releases from the mounting assembly, it may feel heavier than you think.
Step 3: Remove the Disposal Mounting Assembly from the Sink
The entire drain assembly should be removed so the seals can be inspected. There are five parts to the ring assembly (Fig. 3 and 4).
The top part of the assembly (inside the sink) is the ring around the drain (drain flange) that gives it a clean finished appearance and allows water to drain into the disposal. The rubber or heavy paper gasket helps prevent the drain from leaking. Leaking can also be prevented with plumber’s putty.
The bottom part of the assembly (below the sink) includes the triangular shaped upper mounting ring, the lower mounting ring which has the three screws and a snap ring to hold the upper mounting ring to the lower mounting ring.
- First, loosen the tension on the three screws until there is enough room to see the snap ring. The snap ring sits in a groove at the lower end of the flange on the upper mounting ring. Use a small flat bladed screwdriver to dig the snap ring out of the groove.
- Once the snap ring is removed, the lower mounting ring will slide off.
- Now, you can pull out the drain flange and seal from the inside of the sink.
- Remove any old plumber’s putty.
- The Disposal is re-mounted or replaced by following these same steps in reverse order.