instrumentally
Jun 15, 2015, 09:30 AM
Two weeks ago our garbage disposal broke. Despite not working, the sink drained normally. Then 3 days ago, the sink started to back up (i.e. water would not drain from the sink unless you waited a few hours). Yesterday I decided to replace the garbage disposal. I thought that the water draining problem was related to the garbage disposal. It wasn't, however.
I replaced the garbage disposal, remembering to knock out the dishwasher plug at the top of the garbage disposal. The garbage disposal works fine now (i.e. it spins/runs with no noise). However, we still have the drainage problem.
In disassembling the plumbing pipes while installing the garbage disposal, I replaced all the plastic pipes going from the garbage disposal, through the p-trap, and the pipe going into the wall. They really didn't need to be replaced, but I did so anyway. There were no visible signs of blockage or sclerosis, so I was puzzled why the water in the sink would back up (not drain). I tried snaking the line, but there is a 90 degree bend about 18 inches into the wall which the snake would not make it through.
I will add that when water is backed up in the sink, turning on the garbage disposal causes the 5" of standing water in the sink to drain in less than 10-15 seconds. Yet even after this "purge" of water from the sink, the sink will continue to back up if you turn off the garbage disposal and run the water again. You can repeat this exercise over and over again, and turning the disposal on will immediately cause the standing water to drain... except that there will always remain about an inch or two of standing water in the bottom of the garbage disposal if you look down inside the sink throat.
The last clue to this mystery is that when we turn on the dishwasher, dishwasher water will come up the sinkhole into the sink. But again, turning on the garbage disposal cause the standing water to drain very quickly.
Any clues as to what the problem is?
I replaced the garbage disposal, remembering to knock out the dishwasher plug at the top of the garbage disposal. The garbage disposal works fine now (i.e. it spins/runs with no noise). However, we still have the drainage problem.
In disassembling the plumbing pipes while installing the garbage disposal, I replaced all the plastic pipes going from the garbage disposal, through the p-trap, and the pipe going into the wall. They really didn't need to be replaced, but I did so anyway. There were no visible signs of blockage or sclerosis, so I was puzzled why the water in the sink would back up (not drain). I tried snaking the line, but there is a 90 degree bend about 18 inches into the wall which the snake would not make it through.
I will add that when water is backed up in the sink, turning on the garbage disposal causes the 5" of standing water in the sink to drain in less than 10-15 seconds. Yet even after this "purge" of water from the sink, the sink will continue to back up if you turn off the garbage disposal and run the water again. You can repeat this exercise over and over again, and turning the disposal on will immediately cause the standing water to drain... except that there will always remain about an inch or two of standing water in the bottom of the garbage disposal if you look down inside the sink throat.
The last clue to this mystery is that when we turn on the dishwasher, dishwasher water will come up the sinkhole into the sink. But again, turning on the garbage disposal cause the standing water to drain very quickly.
Any clues as to what the problem is?