Unexpected fix to a slow draining garbage disposal drain and a dishwasher with water sitting in it after a wash

[GON]

New to us home in Steilacoom, WA. Under the sink is wet, has been for some time before we moved in, and garbage disposal drain trickles water out. Dishwasher cleans the dishes, yet water in its tub after the dishwasher cycles are complete.

First thing I did was run the dishwasher with the discharge going through the non-garbage disposal sink. No backup, and no water in the dishwasher at the end of the cycle. Next, I took apart the garbage disposal sink elbow. No clogs. Put everything back together, except the garbage disposal protective ring, and everything drained fine.

Went to look for the water under the sink issue, a worn-out o-valve on the faucet built in sprayer. Replaced the o-ring, out everything back together, and the garbage disposal sink draining slowly again. Removed the garbage disposal protective ring, and everything drains fine. Put the protective ring back in place, slow draining.

I suspect the protective ring is too "tight", and not allowing proper venting of the drain pipe. I trimmed the protective ring in the center, all is working just fine. It seems the manufacturer drain holes in the protective ring were not enough to vent the drain pipe. All day job, I could of fixed in under two minutes and kept dry..... but not complaining, everything is working well now.

 

[AZjeff]

Amazing. Good thing you didn't pay a plumber a day to find that fix.

My wife detests garbage disposers, I finally deleted it a couple of months ago but we still have slow draining due to a 17" flat run out of the trap to the wall because of the sink location in a corner of the countertop. Must be scum buildup beyond the new piping out to the elbow. Still trying to work out a fix.

How is the new house? Many issues to fix like this one?

 

[GON]

Amazing. Good thing you didn't pay a plumber a day to find that fix.

My wife detests garbage disposers, I finally deleted it a couple of months ago but we still have slow draining due to a 17" flat run out of the trap to the wall because of the sink location in a corner of the countertop. Must be scum buildup beyond the new piping out to the elbow. Still trying to work out a fix.

How is the new house? Many issues to fix like this one?

Sorry about your slow drain. Are your drain pipes in concrete (Arizona= sometimes concrete floors)?

New house is awesome. But I have dozens of fixes waiting to happen, from the gas fireplace, icemaker, holes in the ceiling from a new furnace install, to a month of killing mold and green stuff on the many outside deck and concrete surfaces.

Seven miles from work, inlet views, three car garage and a RV garage.... but this is a condo so very limited outside maintenance, very happy and "living large". Below are two pictures, one from inside the home at the kitchen table, and one from the outside deck. All this and seven miles from work. The past twenty years I have typically had a one-hour minimum commute. Paid more for this home then I want to, but with fuel like it is- the higher priced home actually works in some ways when adding in savings in commuter fuel.

 

[CKN]

Of course the curious question is-
This appears to be a rental condo you stated you were going to move in to in Washington in another thread. If so, why are the projects yours and not the Landlords?

 

[AZjeff]

"Paid more for this home then I want to"

Sounds like he bought a condo with a 3 car and RV garage. Sounds like a win right there.

Sorry about your slow drain. Are your drain pipes in concrete (Arizona= sometimes concrete floors)?

The plumbing goes through the drywall, turns 90 degrees down through the plate and into and through the slab. All of the plumbing comes up through the slab, very common construction in this area.

 

[CKN]

"Paid more for this home then I want to"

Sounds like he bought a condo with a 3 car and RV garage. Sounds like a win right there.



The plumbing goes through the drywall, turns 90 degrees down through the plate and into and through the slab. All of the plumbing comes up through the slab, very common construction in this area.

From prior thread-
A few asked- we ended up renting a condo in Steilacoom, WA. $1300 ABOVE our targeted budget (15,600 annually above our projected budget). The condo is in an unmanned gated community and has a FOUR car garage. Actually, a three-car garage and a workshop bay in a separate building. Never heard of a condo with a three-car garage plus small drive-in workshop- but it works for me.

Devastating to pay $1300 above our targeted monthly rent goal. Rentals appear hard to get, premium unleaded is near $5 in Washington. The condo is only 6.6 miles from my work. Hoping the fuel savings will offset some of the pricey monthly rental cost. We were looking at rentals one hour away in good traffic, who knows what the commute is in rush hour/ bad traffic. I bit the bullet and am paying the juice on this condo. At least my Wife may be happy. We have not seen the place, but we are already paying the monthly rent.

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[AZjeff]

Hmm. Would have thought, insisted, that everything would be working properly at signing either way or be fixed on owner's dime. But the renter's market is probably like the buyer's market. Take it or leave it.

 

[GON]

Hmm. Would have thought, insisted, that everything would be working properly at signing either way or be fixed on owner's dime. But the renter's market is probably like the buyer's market. Take it or leave it.

We hopefully are model tenants. We have never ever had a penny withheld of our security deposits. I know it is not common, but I believe we leave homes we rent significantly better that when we moved in. I know, not typical.

Last night I replaced the master bath shower head (brass colored-uuggghhhh) with a Kohler brass colored shower head. When I removed the olf shower head, it looked like the original when the home was built 30 years ago.

 

[PimTac]

From prior thread-
A few asked- we ended up renting a condo in Steilacoom, WA. $1300 ABOVE our targeted budget (15,600 annually above our projected budget). The condo is in an unmanned gated community and has a FOUR car garage. Actually, a three-car garage and a workshop bay in a separate building. Never heard of a condo with a three-car garage plus small drive-in workshop- but it works for me.

Devastating to pay $1300 above our targeted monthly rent goal. Rentals appear hard to get, premium unleaded is near $5 in Washington. The condo is only 6.6 miles from my work. Hoping the fuel savings will offset some of the pricey monthly rental cost. We were looking at rentals one hour away in good traffic, who knows what the commute is in rush hour/ bad traffic. I bit the bullet and am paying the juice on this condo. At least my Wife may be happy. We have not seen the place, but we are already paying the monthly rent.

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Holy Mackerel!! Where are you getting premium unleaded for near $5 a gallon?

That is a good location. The costs cannot be helped in this environment.

 

[JTK]

Glad it worked out for you!

It doesn't make sense to me though. The way I see it, with proper vented drain lines, which I assume yours has, that rubber flapper splash guard shouldn't have had anything to do with it.

Garbage disposers are a plumber's money maker. Drains can only take on a volume of slurry for so long before things clog up.

 

[GON]

Glad it worked out for you!

It doesn't make sense to me though. The way I see it, with proper vented drain lines, which I assume yours has, that rubber flapper splash guard shouldn't have had anything to do with it.

Garbage disposers are a plumber's money maker. Drains can only take on a volume of slurry for so long before things clog up.

JTK,

Made no sense to me either. All I knew is when I pulled the splash guard, the drain functioned. With the splash guard in place pre modification, draining was a issue.

 

[pezzy84]

What brand garbage disposal is that? Tailpipe, form factor and rubber guard kinda look like it might be a Moen.

I use Glisten brand cleaning pods on my disposal probably 1-2x per month, they are supposed to clean the disposal and the piping beyond and I guess they might work. If they don't the foaming action is at least fun to watch.

 

[GON]

Update on the slow draining dishwasher.

The draining ability degraded too almost little to no draining. The dishwasher tub was full of water. Decided to pull the dishwasher drain hose off the disposal and drain the dishwasher through the sink into the disposal. Dishwasher drained flawlessly, but more important no water exited the dishwasher drain input on the disposal.

Discovered the no dishwasher installed plug was never properly removed from the garbage disposal. It allowed some water to bypass from time to time, but most times allowed little to no water to bypass. Punched out the protective plug (see picture), and all is well.

This video was helpful in this troubleshooting. Especially love the installers "feline" supervisors: