12/5/09 - Day 29 - Clean Dishes!

Success! Michael worked until 12:30 AM to hook up everything in the sink cabinet. He got up early to make some adjustments to the toe-kick so the dishwasher door could fully open.

He was anxious to wake me up (earlier than I wanted!) to happily pronounce that he was finished. So, somewhat begrudgingly, I got out of bed at 8:20 and traipsed into the new kitchen.  WOW! It looked great!

I wanted to test out the dishwasher, so we read the instructions for loading the dishes, adding the rinse additive (which I've never done before), and reading the safety precautions.  Then, I took out the entire silverware drawer and began putting in the dinner knifes, alternating the handles up and down as suggested in the user manual, then the forks and small spoons.

Michael, an expert on loading dishwashers, showed me how to properly put in the plates and cups and glasses. I had always had older model dishwashers which were loaded differently than the fancier ones of today.

So . . . press the Start button and close the door. 3, 2, 1. . . the mechanism began. The dishwasher was working. Huzzah!

But 10 minutes later, the water started draining out of the air gap on top of the sink, and spewing over the lip of the sink and onto the countertop . . . toward my new wood cover next to the refrigerator. STOP THE DISHWASHER! I quickly grabbed a towel and mopped up the water before it reached its wooden destination. Michael was not happy.

Now readers, it is important at this moment to reveal that, in my experience, dishwashers have ALWAYS drained out of the top of the air gap - at every house I've ever lived in. But Michael says it should not if the hoses are clear of debris. And certainly our brand new hoses and parts should let the water drain through the disposal.  I had told him a couple of times that when I installed my latest disposal a few years ago that the instructions did say there were two ways to install it - one with and one without a dishwasher - but I decided to install like the old one.  The water spewing out the air gap was nothing new to me and I had checked with my sister, who had always had the same experience too. And Michael called Home Depot to get some advice on how to fix the problem and the first person in the kitchen department he spoke with also seemed to indicate that some water does normally come out of the air gap.

At that point, 9:45 AM, I had to take a shower and get dressed for an 11:00 memorial service in Davis, so I bid him adieu and good luck on solving the problem.

After the memorial service, and on the way to my granddaughter's 1st birthday party, I checked my e-mails and saw one from him labeled "Success!"  Indeed, it seems that after talking with someone in the plumbing department they said that there is a covered hole in the disposal that he should punch out to let the water drain from the dishwasher through the disposal so it does not back up into the air gap.  Michael reran the dishwasher after the punch out and VOILA! SUCCESS!  He was a happy camper and so am I!  I am lucky Michael had the knowledge and stick-to-it-tiveness to see the issue through to completion!

Word to the wise: if your dishwasher used water spews out of your air gap, you should have someone punch out the hole in your disposal so it drains properly.