When I left you last in Part One of the The New Dishwasher, the new machine had been inflicted with the same problem as the previous dishwasher--it refused to drain once the wash cycle was over.

Frinklin's dad told us to call Frigidaire as something was obviously wrong with the dishwasher. Um, no.

Once the tears dried, I started investigating the install instructions and jumped online to see if there was anything available that might clue us into the problem. I googled things like "dishwasher drain problem" and "Frigidaire can suck it". Eventually, the In-Sink-Erator website provided instructions for connecting the waste water line to the garbage disposal. I hit pay dirt.

Did you know that there is a small cap inside the garbage disposalÂ’s connection port for the wastewater? There is. It's called the "knockout plug" because, well, you usually knock it out when the dishwasher is connected. Further investigation revealed that Frinklin and his father did not do anything with the wastewater hose aside from attaching it to the new dishwasher. Since the seller of our house had recently installed a new garbage disposal, most likely in a major hurry and when no one was actually occupying the house and using the dishwasher, this plug problem made the most sense.

My theory was confirmed when I accidentally bumped the dishwasher into action and water came shooting our of the air vent on the sink. The water, unable to escape through normal routes was attempting to climb out our countertop. All that had to be done was to disconnect the wastewater hose, knock out the knock out plug with a screwdriver and hammer, fish out the knock out plug, and, finally, reconnect everything.

7pm: Frinklin arrives home.

7:30pm: Work commences.

8pm: Frinklin and I realize that working under a sink with all connections facing the rear of the cabinet is rather difficult.

8:15pm: Much bad language and other frustrated noises are heard until the waste waster connection FINALLY comes loose.

8:45pm: The correct angle is eventually found in order to remove the knock out plug, which then lodges itself within firmly within the garbage disposal, refusing to move.

8:55pm: I run to the computer to make sure that we can't just leave the stupid plug in the disposal. GE disposals say you can. In-Sink-Erator says you can't. We have an In-Sink-Erator disposal.

9:15pm: Frinklin turns off the water to the house and disconnects the plumbing from the disposal and the disposal from the sink.

9:20pm: I REACH INSIDE THE DISPOSAL (gross, gross, gross and in direct violation of all safety instruction) and dig out the knock out plug.

9:40pm: Nine attempts to reattach the disposal to the sink are unsuccessful. The tenth try works.

9:45pm: Water is back on.

9:48pm: Dishwasher runs a rinse cycle.

10:06pm: Dishwasher happily drains (completely leak free!) into the disposal.

SUCCESS!! There is much rejoicing.

Posted by: Ensie at 06:48 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 499 words, total size 3 kb.

1 YOU ROCK!

Posted by: Violet at September 14, 2005 06:20 AM (HhDyc)

2 Yay! Hopefully this will also send an important msg to Frinklin and Frink Sr.: hire a professional!

Posted by: eden at September 14, 2005 10:55 AM (M2PUd)

3 Seriously. I think now they could do it again, having done it once, but I don't think I could suffer through it again. I have to wonder if the guys from Best Buy would have installed it for the regular charge of $70--what with the hard pipe issues, the extension hoses needed, the additional connections required, and the eventual disconnection of the disposal. I have a feeling we would have been either stuck doing it ourselves anywyay.

Posted by: ensie at September 14, 2005 06:25 PM (Pr5Pq)

4 i'm here and reading! i miss hearing these stories in person. yay to your new dishwasher! meagan

Posted by: meagan at September 14, 2005 07:50 PM (UV5ad)

5 Hi Meagan! I owe you an email! Hope your vacation was wonderful. I miss you too!

Posted by: ensie at September 14, 2005 08:33 PM (Pr5Pq)

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