New Garbage Disposal and Dishwasher, leaking all over underneath (sink, appliance, installation)

[zztuckerman]

Good morning,

I had a complete kitchen remodel and new dishwasher, larger, new sink, new garbage disposal, etc. Afterwards when I put food down the disposal and had some water in the sink, turned on the disposal and water leaked all over underneath the sink.

I contacted the builder who did the work, who put the plumber in touch with me. The plumber came out and checked out the disposal and all of the connections, both the plumber and contractor have years of experience, couldn't find anything wrong that they could fix.

Apparently with the new dishwasher it is required to have an outlet valve of some sort, instead of a pipe with no outlet like was the case previously. The water is leaking out of there. The recommendation was to not have a sink full of water when using the disposal, that perhaps the additional pressure of the extra water and powerful disposal was the problem. I also called out my regular plumber to take a look, he couldn't figure it out precisely either. The pipes are clear, no blockages.

For months I didn't have a problem, rarely used the disposal. When I did, I was very careful not to stuff the disposal full, and didn't use too much water, and ran the cold water before and after and I looked under the sink while the disposal was running.

Then a few days ago, I looked under the sink and there was a very small amount of old water underneath the rubber mat.

I want to sell the house next year, and want to get this problem fixed, but no one seems to know what to do. At my wits end. An expensive kitchen remodel and I cannot use the disposal.

Any suggestions? I'd fix it if I knew what to have fixed. And if 2 plumbers and a contractor don't know, then who would?

Thanks for your time.

[b-nasty]

Take and post a few clear, well-lit photos of the connections under the sink and indicate with arrows where the leaks are coming from. Nobody can diagnose something like this from text alone.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by zztuckerman

Any suggestions?

In short... you need a better class of contractor.

[zztuckerman]

Good morning,

I am not exactly sure where the water is coming from, will have to re-create the leak again. Then I will call someone out, but not sure who. Again, if a contractor and 2 plumbers couldn't find a fix, who could I call?

[zztuckerman]

Other than, it's not the disposal itself but the pipes underneath when the disposal is turned on and the sink is full of water.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by zztuckerman

Good morning,

Again, if a contractor and 2 plumbers couldn't find a fix, who could I call?

A competent plumber.

[zztuckerman]

OK, I'll do that. It's just tough when you don't know about these things, very frustrating. I'll call a different plumber who does appliance installation and plumbing.

[Cd225]

I believe the recommendation to not have a sink full of water when using the disposal is actually good. If we could see a photo of this outlet valve, one of us could probably comment more precisely. The air gap, installed per MrRational's attachment in reply #3 works, but in my city it's not required if the dishwasher has a backflow preventer.

[reed303]

Do you have the installation instructions for the D/W & Disposer ??

Are they installed per the instuctions ?

In addtion to pictures, specific make & model info helps others help you.

[Barking Spider]

There shouldn't be ANY leaks under a sink full of water or not.
Maybe they did not tighten the disposal to the bottom of the sink tight enough. They may have not tightened the sink strainer tight enough to the sink basin itself.
Get a competent plumber to fix it.