How to Replace A Garbage Disposal

If you have some basic home improvement skills (or want to learn some), replacing a garbage disposal is a fairly easy home project to take on.

The first thing you need to do is choose the kind of garbage disposal you want. There are a lot of options out there and you need to think about what you want as far as power, noise, and vibration go.

Once you have the garbage disposal and tools you need, you are ready to start. We actually made a video about how to replace a garbage disposal that you can watch to show you how it’s done. We’ll explain the steps below.

UNINSTALL OLD DISPOSAL

Disconnect power - Start with shutting off the power to your disposal. If it plugs into an outlet, you just unplug it. If it’s wired in, you have to shut the power off at the breaker.
Remove existing disposal - You need to disconnect any drain lines that are going to the disposal as well as the dishwashing drain tube if there is one. Next, you are going to drop the disposal by loosening the mounting lug while supporting it from below. It’s heavy, so be careful.

INSTALL NEW DISPOSAL

Prepare mounting assembly and flange
Install flange in sink using plumbers putty or silicone and then connect disposal to the flange.
If you have a dishwasher, knock out and remove the plug from the dishwasher connection on your disposal.
Connect to electrical supply
Attach discharge tube
Connect to mountain assembly
Reconnect drain lines
Fill sink and test for leaks
Turn the power back on and test

If you feel comfortable with these types of projects, replacing a garbage disposal is something you can totally do yourself.

As always, if you ever feel like you’ve gotten in over your head, stop and call a technician that you trust for some help. If you’re in the Utah market, consider calling Any Hour Services.

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