The Latest Word on Pittsburgh Garbage Disposal Replacement
It really wasn’t that far back when for the most part, garbage disposals didn’t exist in people’s homes. Back in those earlier days, what people now put down their garbage disposals was taken out back and thrown to the chickens.
Back then, putting food scraps down the drain would have been considered foolishly wasteful. But then things began to change. The price of eggs and chicken at the grocery store became more affordable, and people began moving to the suburbs where they couldn’t raise chickens anyway.
Then compact and reliable garbage disposals we’re developed and sent to market.
So now, Pittsburgh garbage disposal replacement is yet another service option offered by Pittsburgh plumbers.
Is DIY garbage disposal replacement easy to do?
Yes, it is possible.
People do it occasionally, but as home improvement projects go, this is not an easy one.
Thanks to the internet, do-it-yourself projects around the home are easier than ever because if you get stuck, a DIY video is just a click away on your phone.
Even so, there are few things that work together to make DIY garbage disposal replacement one of the most challenging projects that you can take on around your home.
So don’t be surprised if you end up having to call in a professional when you can’t complete the job if you decide to try it.
The first problem is that it involves plumbing, electrical and mechanical skills, all rolled up into one package and then crammed up inside the confined space underneath your sink.
Then even if you can get through the complexity and complete the job, there can be no leaks when you’re done.
What do you need for DIY garbage disposal replacement?
First, you need a new garbage disposal, and a good word of advice is that if you manage to get the old one out, take it with you to the store when you buy a new one.
The reason for this is you will have the old one with you for comparison, so the new one you buy will adapt right into the existing plumbing configuration under your sink. Something else that you will need is a plumber’s putty.
It’s used to form a gasket where the garbage disposal intake connects up to the sink itself. Plumbers’ putty looks like modeling clay, and if you don’t have it, you have to get it because you can’t substitute it with silicone. Also, you’re going to need a few big dry towels to lay down under your sink to soak up any water that spills out of the pipes when you disconnect them.
Then because you’ll be lying on your back looking up underneath your sink to do the work, you’re going to need a small flashlight and a big hard pillow to lay on so you don’t have the bottom of your sink cabinet jammed into your back.
What is included in garbage disposal replacement?
There are a few things included in garbage disposal replacement that you won’t get if you do the job yourself.
The first is a guarantee of trouble-free operation beginning on day one. This might seem like a small item, but when the job is done by a professional who has previous experience in garbage disposal replacement, it also means that you don’t have to worry about leaks either.
Then when the job is done by an experienced professional plumber, you can rest assured that all the hardware that comes in the box with the new garbage disposal will be replaced.
What you don’t realize now is that replacing everything from the top down evolves quite a bit of work.
So most do-it-yourselfers cheat themselves by taking shortcuts and not replacing old rubber gaskets and cleaning out and redoing the plumbers putty gasket where the top of the unit connects up to the sink.
Can my garbage disposal be repaired?
The answer here is yes, it can, but it’s really not worth it unless it’s an expensive model.
It’s surprising how cheap you could pick up a new garbage disposal for, and that’s what makes repairing your broken garbage disposal so infeasible.
If it’s jammed, you can go online and watch any one of several videos that show how to remove an obstacle that’s stuck inside the unit. Or if it stopped working altogether, the chances are good that all you need to do is press the little reset button located at the bottom.
If that doesn’t work, check the switch outside on the breaker box. Both of the dominant players in the big box hardware store business offer Veteran’s discounts of 15%. So if you consider that you can pick up a new garbage disposal for around $100, that discount brings the price down to $85.
So it just doesn’t make any sense to remove an old broken garbage disposal and then start in taking it apart when you can just head into town and buy a new one.
How much does garbage disposal replacement in Pittsburgh cost?
The answer here is not much if it’s done by a reputable licensed Pittsburgh plumber. It’s possibly the quickest plumbing job you can have done.
Generally, you can call a plumbing contractor up, and they’ll tell you over the phone what kind of cost you are looking at to have the garbage disposal replaced.
The reason for this is that it’s a pretty straightforward job that doesn’t carry with it any surprises. As noted above, you can purchase a brand new garbage disposal for about $100 now, and that’s pretty cheap when you consider all that goes into it.
Then make it easier for your plumber the easier they will be on you when they’re writing up their bill.
So make sure that you’re sink is empty and clean because he will be working in it. Then empty and clean any spilled mess in the cabinet below the sink. Then if you have a barking dog, put it in the backyard for the duration of the time that the worker is there.