Particles from Garbage Disposal backing up into Dishwasher? (countertop, townhouse, drain)

[glamatomic]

So, last night I didn't get to put away all the leftovers from dinner because my 5 month old baby was fussing and being needy.

First thing early this morning, I put the leftover corn kernels and peas (only about 1 cups worth) down the garbage disposal and switched it on with the water running as usual, filled up the dishwasher and got it going. When I went to empty it, most of the things in the dishwasher were covered in tiny flakes of yellow and green from the peas and corn!

I rinsed everything off again, ran water into the garbage disposal and switched that on again for a while to try to rinse it out more and then put everything back in the dishwasher and started it again. Lo and behold, it did it again! Although not as bad as the first time around.

I put baking soda and vinegar down my disposal about once a month or so to 'clean' it, but I can't figure out why it's suddenly backing up into my dishwasher?

After the second time, I ended up hand washing everything and putting it all away.

Any suggestions!? Thanks in advance

[chet everett]

I have no idea why anyone would toss baking soda and vinegar into the garbage disposer. All that will accomplish is to release a lot of CO2, sorta like throwing extra fizzy / salty seltzer in to the unit. I could even be contributing to the mess...

The real problem though is more likely a CLOG in the drain. Modern codes specify that the dishwasher is connected to its own trap but lots are still connected the to port on the disposer. Check to see what type of connection you have.

Get some real drain cleaner and following directions. Scotch 1503 Instant Power Disposal and Drain Cleaner, Orange Scent - Amazon.com

Would be smart to do every trap under the sink separately.

[K'ledgeBldr]

The "air gap" is gone on the D/W drain line.
The line is suppose to go up to the underside of the countertop and down to the D/W from the disposal.

That air gap keeps food stuffs from being siphoned back into the D/W.

[sj08054]

Originally Posted by glamatomic

So, last night I didn't get to put away all the leftovers from dinner because my 5 month old baby was fussing and being needy.

First thing early this morning, I put the leftover corn kernels and peas (only about 1 cups worth) down the garbage disposal and switched it on with the water running as usual, filled up the dishwasher and got it going. When I went to empty it, most of the things in the dishwasher were covered in tiny flakes of yellow and green from the peas and corn!

I rinsed everything off again, ran water into the garbage disposal and switched that on again for a while to try to rinse it out more and then put everything back in the dishwasher and started it again. Lo and behold, it did it again! Although not as bad as the first time around.

I put baking soda and vinegar down my disposal about once a month or so to 'clean' it, but I can't figure out why it's suddenly backing up into my dishwasher?

After the second time, I ended up hand washing everything and putting it all away.

Any suggestions!? Thanks in advance

Remove the connection at the garbage disposal where DW is connected in. Check for debris. Put the hose in a 5gal bucket and run your DW in rinse. It should drain quickly from the DW pump. Turn the DW off and reinstall the hose. Make sure you loop it above the garbage disposal connection.

[Billy_J]

1. Make sure the dishwasher drain hose / air gap is properly installed (sometimes people don't install things right).

2. Clean the kitchen drain trap and drain.

These dishwasher installation instructions (something people don't read!) say how to properly install the drain...
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdf...91ab282464.pdf

[lvoc]

Has not got an air gap...you don't back up through an air gap. The other solution is to run the drain hose up high as possible...against the counter top. Should help but not as good as an air gap.

[blazerj]

Try dishwasher and garbage disposal magic first. If that doesn't work, you have to manually clean the dishwasher filter. This happened at my old townhouse and cleaning the filter worked.

[Rinsed]

Tie a loose loop in the hose connected from the dishwasher to the garbage disposal. The hose that is connected to the upper part of the garbage disposal that is usually gray, accordion like is the one.
Had the same problem with the garbage disposal backing up into the dishwasher. The dishwasher died. Got a new one. This time with a pro install. They tied a loose loop in the hose. So far,so good. No problems.