Retch The Grate
Full time employment: Posting here.
So we bought a new house, we just ran the dishwasher that the previous owner had installed for the sale and never run (all the foam and stickers were still inside it, we took them out). Water came pumping out of the air gap. I was surprised, because brand new. Started looking, no sign of a block, no sign of any debris, decided they must have left the knockout plug in the garbage disposal.
Several minutes later, somewhat covered in dripping water, I've got the hose off the garbage disposal and the plug was already properly removed so not that. Mystery! I keep look closely at the air gap, and the hoses, and some online user manuals for air gaps, and it is pretty obvious they installed the hoses backwards, the dishwasher was draining into the outer part of the air gap, so of course the water flows out the vents rather than getting to the pipe that is above that level. Yay, solved! I reverse the hoses, put it all back together, and run the dishwasher to fill and then drain, expecting a triumph and the adulation of DW.
Nope, water comes spraying out the air gap! So... I'm now at a loss as to why this isn't working. I've got the water from the dishwasher coming up the skinny internal pipe in the air gap, it hits the cap, and then jets out the slots instead of flowing down the hose to the garbage disposal. Is it because the hose is too long (it seems way too long, when the handyman is on site on monday I'm going to see if we can trim the hose)? Is it because the hose is too narrow (neither hose was super wide)? Is it because the hoses are accordianed rather than smooth? Any ideas?
It definitely isn't a clog. I'm 99.9% certain I got the dishwasher hooked up correctly since I see the water come up the small pipe now which makes sense for an air gap, I just don't get why it jets out the vents instead of flowing back down the larger outer pipe now. As a renter I never had to deal with this, all the dishwashers I've had have been working correctly when I moved in... This really doesn't seem like I should need a plumber (he's expensive!) but googling just yields hundreds of people talking about how it means there's a clog, I've blown air through the obviously brand new hose, there is no clog.
Several minutes later, somewhat covered in dripping water, I've got the hose off the garbage disposal and the plug was already properly removed so not that. Mystery! I keep look closely at the air gap, and the hoses, and some online user manuals for air gaps, and it is pretty obvious they installed the hoses backwards, the dishwasher was draining into the outer part of the air gap, so of course the water flows out the vents rather than getting to the pipe that is above that level. Yay, solved! I reverse the hoses, put it all back together, and run the dishwasher to fill and then drain, expecting a triumph and the adulation of DW.
Nope, water comes spraying out the air gap! So... I'm now at a loss as to why this isn't working. I've got the water from the dishwasher coming up the skinny internal pipe in the air gap, it hits the cap, and then jets out the slots instead of flowing down the hose to the garbage disposal. Is it because the hose is too long (it seems way too long, when the handyman is on site on monday I'm going to see if we can trim the hose)? Is it because the hose is too narrow (neither hose was super wide)? Is it because the hoses are accordianed rather than smooth? Any ideas?
It definitely isn't a clog. I'm 99.9% certain I got the dishwasher hooked up correctly since I see the water come up the small pipe now which makes sense for an air gap, I just don't get why it jets out the vents instead of flowing back down the larger outer pipe now. As a renter I never had to deal with this, all the dishwashers I've had have been working correctly when I moved in... This really doesn't seem like I should need a plumber (he's expensive!) but googling just yields hundreds of people talking about how it means there's a clog, I've blown air through the obviously brand new hose, there is no clog.