So I installed a disposal unit, where there wasn't one previously. and when the sink fills up with a little bit of water (from items being placed in the unit) and i turn it on, some of the waste gets pushed up and out the opposite sink drain hole... covering the newly washed and drying dishes. I can prevent this from happening by putting the plug in the other side... is this common though? is my plumbing wrong? it looks like this (it's a double sink, obviously)
the rest of the waste goes down normally, it just is looking for the easiest way out...I hope my lay out looks correct.
Every disposer I've seen is hooked up just as he describes, with a straight pipe from the disposer to the downpipe of the 2nd sink, THEN a p-trap. I assume his T fitting is in the pipe right below the dry sink's outlet.
To the original poster: Start your water running FIRST, then turn on the disposer, THEN start adding material....I think that will solve most of your problem.
Yea, I thnk what i'm going to do is just alter my method of using the disposal... and not let the water really collect in there. I could add a second P-Trap... but it's really not worth it. I appreciate everyone's input...
Only if the disposer ISN'T the kind which will only run when the sink drain hole "cap" is inserted and rotated. :-)
I encountered one of those kinds of disposers while we wewe visiting a friend who was house sitting for another friend.
The disposal in that house was the kind I mentioned above, but it also had a wall switch controlling the power to it. My friend had been using it for a couple of days with the "cap" not in place and turning it on and off with the wall switch.
When our friend was cleaning up after dinner she said "The disposer's not working!"
I started looking for a reason. I hit the reset button on the bottom of the unit, searched out the breaker panel and tried flipping the breaker and even found the hex wrench in a kitchen drawer and found that the motor wasn't jammed. I used a table lamp plugged into the undersink outlet the disposer plugged into to prove power was getting that far.
Then, I happened to look at the "cap" and right on its T-handle there were instructions to lift and turn the handle to run the disposer. I did that and "Bob's your uncle".
Apparantly the switch operated by that cap's handle had gotten stuck in it's closed position allowing the motor to run any time there was power getting to it through the wall switch. That lead our friend to believe that the disposer didn't need the cap in place to work. Then that switch "unstuck" and made her think she'd broken the disposer.
The tee that ties into the tailpiece from your 2nd sink (the one without the disposal) should have a turn down baffle to direct the water downwards into the drain. If it does not have this, it could be your problem.
Look at this diagram and then scroll down for a cutaway of the proper type of tee.
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