Garbage Disposal Installation in Ajax

Telltales that call for garbage disposal installation

Most calls are for a replacement. An old unit hums but will not spin, leaks from the bottom of the housing, or trips the reset button over and over. Others are first-time installs during a kitchen update, where the homeowner wants scraps out of the compost bin before they hit the trap.

• Humming with no grinding
• Water dripping from the body of the unit
• Bad smells that come back after cleaning
• Frequent clogs in the kitchen line below the disposal

How we do the work

We remove the old unit or the basket strainer, set a new mounting flange with fresh plumber's putty, and hang the disposal. The discharge tube goes to the trap at the right height so water does not sit in the grinding chamber. If you have a dishwasher, we connect its drain hose to the disposal inlet and knock out the internal plug, a small step that is easy to miss.

Power is the other half. A disposal needs a proper outlet or hard-wired connection under the sink. If there is none, an electrician has to add one, and you hear that from us up front.

On Ajax streets

Durham Region asks residents to put food scraps in the green bin, and a disposal does not replace that. What it does is catch the bits that would otherwise go down the drain anyway. In older Ajax kitchens the drain line can be narrow and already lined with grease, so we sometimes recommend kitchen drain cleaning before a new unit goes in.

Price swings on

The model you choose, whether power is already there, and the condition of the existing trap and drain all affect the job. A like-for-like swap is the quickest.

Worth asking the plumber

• Is my kitchen drain in good enough shape for a disposal?
• What horsepower suits our household?
• Will it fit with the dishwasher and any filter under the sink?

When not to install one

A disposal is not the right choice for every home. If your kitchen line already clogs often, if it runs a long way flat before joining the main, or if a septic system is involved outside town, we will tell you that plainly. In those cases a good strainer basket may serve you better.

Disposals also come in different grind styles and noise levels. Insulated models are much quieter, which matters in open-plan kitchens.

Before we leave, we run the unit with water, check the flange and the dishwasher connection for drips, and show you where the reset button and the hex key socket are on the bottom.