save me paying a plumber please! :)

[tulak]

save me paying a plumber please!

Don't fall for some wild realtor saying.
Just get a bag of kitty litter, pour 2-4 cups in each gallon paint can, and about 10 cups into the 5 gallon bucket.
Stir each.
The stuff will harden up in a day and can legally be thrown into the garbage as it's dried paint.

Only true if it’s latex paint, right?

Otherwise you might have to dispose of it as hazardous waste.

 

[Retch The Grate]

San Mateo County is pretty clear on it being illegally abandoned waste and that it is a not legal to transport it if you didn't generate it. And it isn't clear WHAT is in the open 5 gallon bucket. It developed a skin, but is liquid underneath, and is translucent, not opaque, so I think it is some sort of resin or sealant maybe? Who knows!

 

[Retch The Grate]

yeah will take a photo of the dishwasher when I'm over at the new house again, we didn't go today.

 

[NgineER]

I think that if you remove the excess hose from the air gap to the disposal you’ll be fine. As others have said you have created a p-trap and you are jetting water into one end of it and can’t drain the water fast enough.

Shorten the hose and I’m pretty confident the problem will go away.

You can also take the “decorative” cap off and observe what is happening.

 

[mountainsoft]

My guess is it is the long loop of hose that is connected between the air gap and the disposal, it drops down to the bottom of the cabinet and comes back up again

Oh, I missed that in your description. The dishwasher pumps to the air gap, but from there it drains by gravity. As another poster said, you essentially have a large P-trap. Shortening that hose would definitely be a good place to start.

I would still make sure the main drain is clear. Fill up the sink, then pull the plug to see if it drains quickly. If it glugs, drains slowly, or backs up into the other sink bowl (if you have two bowls) you probably have a clog in the main drain.

 

[CoolChange]

Any chance there is still a plug in there garbage disposal where the dishwasher drain hose is connected?


Garbage disposals generally come with that connection blocked for cases when they are being installed in kitchens that do not have dishwashers. This should be removed before attaching the dishwasher drain hose to the disposal. I'm guessing you can all figure out why I know this.

 

[ncbill]

1, check for clog by filling sink to the brim & then opening the drain.

2. if sink drains fine, shorten drain hose & plug directly into disposal, bypassing air gap...but leave it there for looks.

 

[sengsational]

As I've read, you've validated the knock-out plug on the disposal has been knocked out, and the line is clear from the air gap to the disposal. But, as in many places in life, "you don't want a dip".

 

[Retch The Grate]

Any chance there is still a plug in there garbage disposal where the dishwasher drain hose is connected?

I stuck my finger through the hole in the side of the disposal while DW confirmed she could see it after I first pulled the hoses off to check for clogs.

I still need to try filling the sink and check for drainage issues since I'm sure the pipes in the walls are likely there for 60 years.

 

[Retch The Grate]

As I've read, you've validated the knock-out plug on the disposal has been knocked out, and the line is clear from the air gap to the disposal. But, as in many places in life, "you don't want a dip".

yup, the drawing on the left is definitely what it currently looks like except it is less of a dip and more of a pile of hose on the bottom of the cabinet. It was originally coiled, but I unraveled that at least.

 

[RetireeRobert]

yup, the drawing on the left is definitely what it currently looks like except it is less of a dip and more of a pile of hose on the bottom of the cabinet. It was originally coiled, but I unraveled that at least.

How far past closing are you on this house. I would be making some loud complaints to realtor. Also, if there was a house inspection done to be able to complete the close, I would be screaming like mad (diplomatically, that is) to the inspector!

A "coil" of D/W discharge hose on the bottom of cabinet does not sound like any half-way competent install I ever heard of---whether done by a big-box store install contractor or by a plumber.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

The dishwasher drainage layout in this new construction California home goes like this -
There is an upside down 'Y' shaped fitting with the top of the Y going to the air-gap.
The right leg of the Y is attached to the smaller diameter plastic accordion discharge tube from the dishwasher.
The larger diameter left leg has a short rubber hose that is attached to the disposal.
Almost fool proof - the hoses can't be mixed up and are attached with endless hose clamps so they can be shortened as desired.
The only thing that could go wrong would be a malfunctioning air-gap or insufficient drainage at the disposal.

 

[Freedom56]

You must have an obstruction from the air gap to the garbage disposal or the air gap assembly is not working. If you disconnect the pipe from the air gap to the garbage and water does not flow out, your air gap is broken (place a bucket to catch the water). If it does flow out, there has to be a blockage in the garbage disposal or after.

 

[Retch The Grate]

Didn't take a picture, temp fix was connecting the dishwasher directly to the inlet on the garbage disposal which works fine. DW measured the hose and determined that it didn't meet code in width either, so she ordered a new wider one and more hose clamps in case the existing ones are too small to slip over it. This is more work than I wanted to put into a dishwasher. hopefully the laundry machine has fewer issues.

 

[Retch The Grate]

The dishwasher drainage layout in this new construction California home goes like this -
There is an upside down 'Y' shaped fitting with the top of the Y going to the air-gap.
The right leg of the Y is attached to the smaller diameter plastic accordion discharge tube from the dishwasher.
The larger diameter left leg has a short rubber hose that is attached to the disposal.
Almost fool proof - the hoses can't be mixed up and are attached with endless hose clamps so they can be shortened as desired.
The only thing that could go wrong would be a malfunctioning air-gap or insufficient drainage at the disposal.

Oh you'd think so, but the people who installed the dishwasher for the seller put accordion hose on both sides of the air gap, and didn't trim it so it indeed looks like the illustration Sengsational posted above, except there was a lot more drain hose laying on the bottom of the cabinet well below the disposal. The annoying thing was we even had a plumber out after we bought the house to take a look at everything and verify that it looked ok and he didn't raise an issue about the dishwasher.

 

[Retch The Grate]

How far past closing are you on this house. I would be making some loud complaints to realtor. Also, if there was a house inspection done to be able to complete the close, I would be screaming like mad (diplomatically, that is) to the inspector!

A "coil" of D/W discharge hose on the bottom of cabinet does not sound like any half-way competent install I ever heard of---whether done by a big-box store install contractor or by a plumber.

Close was 12/15. Yeah, I'm pretty annoyed by the abandoned paint, all the trash left in the crawlspace under the front steps, and in drawers and shelves in the garage. Sadly this is california, we waived everything but the financing contingency to be competitive. So this is risk I accepted. Well, not the abandoned chemicals, that's literally illegal.

Yeah, I'm not impressed by the install quality on basically anything, the renovation was obviously done as cheaply as possible. But I set aside a couple hundred k for any repairs and upgrades, and we haven't moved out of our rental yet, so as long as I can get everything fixed up in the next 4 weeks, it is all good. Have to move into the house by mid march since our current landlord wants to sell the house we are renting.

 

[ncbill]

Didn't take a picture, temp fix was connecting the dishwasher directly to the inlet on the garbage disposal which works fine. DW measured the hose and determined that it didn't meet code in width either, so she ordered a new wider one and more hose clamps in case the existing ones are too small to slip over it. This is more work than I wanted to put into a dishwasher. hopefully the laundry machine has fewer issues.

My other recommendation is copper line (not plastic) for water supply to dishwashers and refrigerators.

I use copper line for both and have never had a leak in the 25+ years I've lived in my current home.

 

[teetee]

My other recommendation is copper line (not plastic) for water supply to dishwashers and refrigerators.

I use copper line for both and have never had a leak in the 25+ years I've lived in my current home.

It depends on the water. One of my friends house uses well water which is slightly acidic. She lived in that house for over 40yrs and had to replace large section with pex because of the tiny holes of the original copper ones caused the peak.

 

[ncbill]

It depends on the water. One of my friends house uses well water which is slightly acidic. She lived in that house for over 40yrs and had to replace large section with pex because of the tiny holes of the original copper ones caused the peak.

True, water in some areas can cause pinhole leaks in copper but not here...it's much more likely to see plastic lines fail, often due to age (splitting/cracking)

I've also seen the plastic connectors crack due to age & then pop off...a neighbor who rented had to replace the entire ground floor when that happened to the fridge water line in-between tenants.