Last night, our dinner dishes washed themselves while we kicked back and watched “Mythbusters” on DVR. Yup, we actually accomplished a task on our to do list by replacing our dishwasher drain hose. Here’s what we did:
Under the sink, before.
We actually did not have to replace the entire drain hose, which made this project much easier than anticipated. The only problematic hose was the connection between the “air gap” and the garbage disposal.
For those of you not blessed with an air gap, in some areas, building codes require that a dishwasher not drain directly into the disposal. Rather, the drain connects to a vent in the top of the sink (the “air gap”). A second hose goes from the air gap to the disposal. You can see in this picture the hose connecting the air gap to the disposal is a bit kinked. It’s not entirely closed off, but you can see that it is bent at too far of an angle, narrowing the passage of water. As a result, when the dishwasher drained, excess water that couldn’t make it through the small space leaked out the air gap.
You can see the hose flattens out where it bends, allowing less water through.
It’s pretty simple, really. First, you loosen the bolts on the hose clamps, the little metal strips wrapped around the ends of the tubing that hold it to the connections on the disposal and the air gap.
Here is S trying to get the hose off the disposal connection after loosening the hose clamp.
Once you’ve loosened the clamps and removed the hose, you just reverse the process with the new hose. Remember to check the size of your existing hose before you go to the hardware store to buy a new one. We forgot on our first trip. Our hose has a 7/8 in. internal diameter. Most of what they had at Home Depot was 3/4 or 1 in. , so we had to get some hose specially cut. We purchased about 4 feet of hose, just to be safe.
Place the hose on the connections at the air gap and disposal, and tighten the hose clamps. Viola! You are done. Here’s our new, extra long hose:
Under the sink, after.
It looks funny, but we couldn’t find any other way to connect the air gap and the disposal without creating a kink in the hose, just like we had before.
This post is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and is not intended to be advice. Please consult a professional. Also, before doing any home improvement projects yourself, remember to take all appropriate safety precautions (for example, but not limited to, turning off electricity or water, etc.).
