Girl, Fix it Yourself! Mind the Gap

I realized that lately I've been fixing a lot of things myself and thought it might make a fun series.  For those of you who are single and living alone, this might be handy.  For those of you whose husbands or boyfriends are out of town/deployed/mechanically inept this might come in handy. Or if your cat doesn't have thumbs and therefore can't help you, or if your cat does have thumbs but is too dumb anyway. None of it is novel information, but it proves that girls can fix things, too!

Now that we have that out of the way, I had a busy morning.  I've had problems with my dishwasher's air gap for awhile now, but today it really went crazy with my first load of dishes in the dishwasher.

This is the air gap:

This is designed to prevent sewage and gross water from backing up again onto your clean dishes.  The dishwasher drains UP into it and then the water flows back DOWN into the disposal.  If water is constantly pouring out of that little hole in the front, you have a clog somewhere.  A few little trickles, fine...but a gushing waterfall...no way!  Here's how to fix it.

First of all, watch this video, which has a lot of great tips.  I'll run it down for you just in case you don't want to watch...but if you're a visual learner, go for it!

You need:

1. A flathead screwdriver

2. A bucket

3. Hot water

4. Vinegar

5. Baking soda

6. Some kind of long brush or stick

7. Flashlight

1. Open up the cabinet under the sink.  You will see the garbage disposal with the air gap hose attached:

2. Clear a space (you know, all those 5 year old cleaning products you forgot you had) and put the bucket underneath the hose and disposal.

3. If the garbage disposal's electrical cord is in the way, unplug it and move it.

4. On the air gap hose right where it attaches to the disposal is a metal ring with a screw in it.  Loosen the screw and pull off the hose.  Some icky water will probably drain into the bucket.

5.  Shine your flashlight into the disposal from where you just pulled off the hose.  Is it blocked?  If so, whoever installed your garbage disposal forgot to knock out the knockout plug!  Using your flathead screwdriver, punch it into the disposal, then reach in and remove it.  Reconnect all of the hoses and you're good to go!

6.  Knockout plug is already knocked out?  Bummer.  Leave everything disconnected.  You're now going to have to flush out what probably looks and smells like the spawn of Chtulhu.  

7.  Head back up to the thing on top of the sink.  The chrome part will slide right off-set it aside. 

8.  There's a plastic part under the chrome.  The top (cap) will either screw off, or you have one that you can either pry up or squeeze it with your fingers and pull straight up.

9.  Look down into the air gap.  There's a small hose off to one side that you're not worried about.  Look into the deep, dark recesses of the large space.  Is there water in it?  Does it smell weird?  Then you have a clog. 

10.  Get a paper towel or toilet paper roll and place it over the air gap.  Blow hard into it, using your hand if necessary to create a better seal.  If there's a clog, you'll feel it.  It's a lot like blowing into an oboe (which for those of you who have never taken a woodwinds course, is a lot like blowing into a potato). If  the clog comes out, you'll feel it "pop."  Look in the bucket to see if a seed or something popped out.  

11.  Snake the air gap.  A dryer vent brush works well for this because it's long and flexible.  Just put it in (which may require some force) and pull it back out.  I considered posting a picture of the gunk that mine pulled out and left in the bucket, but I thought you might like to eat today.  If you don't have a dryer vent brush (which is worth the investment...dryer safety is important!) then consider some of the extra long zip ties you can get at the hardware store.  (As a bonus, these have great sewing applications as stays or boning...and they're cheaper than the "real" stuff at the fabric store).

12. Dump some baking soda down the air gap and follow with vinegar.  You'll get a volcano, and possibly a volcano of gunk.  Gross.  If you do this at the bottom end of the hose, too, it's more effective.  You might have to break up baking soda clumps with your "snake" while doing this.

13.  Follow by pouring in the hot water.  Everything should be flowing very freely now.

14.  Reconnect the hose, tighten the screw, and find a suitable place to dump that nasty soup of gunk...eww. Rinse off your brush if you used one. 

15.  Replace the cap and chrome portion of the air gap. 

16.  Run and clean your disposal.  

Good luck!  This created a vast improvement for my dishwasher.  If it didn't work for you, then you have bigger problems.  Call a plumber, and perhaps an old priest and a young priest and Mulder and Scully and see what they say.