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Garbage Disposal Backing Up?

  
  
  

sink clogHave you ever been hunched over the kitchen sink rinsing off the dishes and suddenly the sink starts backing up? People get confounded when just one side of the sink fills up...the side with the garbage disposal. A garbage disposal takes all kinds of abuse with people throwing things down there that they shouldn't be. I'm guessing the plumbing gods took this into consideration and a restriction pipe was placed after some disposals.

The discharge pipe leads from the side of the disposal and meets up with the drain which carries the waste to the sewer. Usually, this discharge pipe connects to the vertical sink tailpiece which flows to the drain trap. The restriction is typically after the disposal but before it meets the tailpiece.

Things like potato peels and other vegetable peelings are famous for clogging up the restriction pipe, and you can only access it from below the sink. You will have to disconnect some piping, so either get a wet/dry shopvac and suck out the water from the sink, or have a bucket under the piping to catch the water (and make sure the bucket is large enough to handle it). The pipes will come out after you loosen the slip nuts that hold the pipes and fittings together. Pull out the potato peels (or whatever is clogging the pipe) and run some water through them to flush everything out (put the bucket under the sink to catch the water). Once you reassemble everything, tighten the nuts and test for leaks. By the way, here is some information on how to snake a clogged drain.

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