DIY Project – Dishwasher Air Gap – Replacing the Air Gap
I wanted to get the new air gap in place before we needed to run the dishwasher. We made, it seems, our weekly trip to the home improvement store. Efiwym, my wife, had her list of things to buy including an air gap. We would buy the air gap today and replace it tomorrow.
The following day, I prepared the area. It did not take much. I removed the cleaning supplies from just one side of the cabinet under the sink. Obviously, it was the side where the air gap was located. I removed the cover from the air gap and removed the retaining nut. I pushed down the air gap below the hole in the sink. I got on the floor and reached under the sink and grabbed the dishwasher waste pipe. There it was, the air gap, and it was easily accessible to replace.
There were two hoses: one from the dishwasher, the other to the garbage disposal. I loosened the metal clamps and pulled them away from the air gap. I tried unsuccessfully to remove either hose from the air gap. I used a screwdriver to break the air gap from one hose and cut the other off with a hacksaw instead. Since the size of the hoses were different, you could not put them on the wrong side.
I removed the new air gap from the package, put the clamps on the hoses and twisted the hoses on the air gap. So far, no big deal. As I started to tighten one clamp, the screw kept turning, but the clamp would not get tighter. The clamp that was there for 35 years was too big. The hose sealed itself to the air gap. The clamp was useless. I pulled off the hose and removed the clamp. I knew I had a clamp somewhere, but where?
I went downstairs and looked on a table where I knew I had several boxes of either plumbing stuff or miscellaneous stuff. (I have many boxes of miscellaneous stuff.) I found a metal clamp that, unfortunately, was the same size. I also found another air gap in its original package. Oh well, maybe I will need it in 35 years. As I walked up the stairs, I contemplated ways to use the clamp I had found. None of them made sense. I did not want to go to the store.
Efiwym, my wife, was outside doing her landscaping thing. She walked in just in time for me to ask her if she had seen a metal hose clamp, as I showed it to her. She paused and then said, “Yes, I have.” She thought there was one in a box with our landscaping tools and stuff in the garage. She went outside and returned with a clamp. It was the perfect size. I was ecstatic. I did not have to go out. I put the clamp on and tightened it down.
I tried initially to push the air gap back into the opening in the sink. Reaching under the sink, I tried to aim the air gap toward the hole, but I was unsuccessful. I went to Plan B. I grabbed some yarn, pulled it through the opening and tied it to the air gap. From the top I pulled the yarn up through the hole. The yarn snapped. Well, that did not work well. So, this time I doubled up on the yarn. I pulled the air gap up to the opening. I could not get the air gap to align with the hole. I grabbed a screwdriver and through the hole, I moved the air gap towards the hole. Once I had enough of the air gap exposed, I pulled it up tight and screwed on the retaining nut. This really should not have been that hard.
I put the cover on the air gap and ran a rinse on the dishwasher. I looked down into the garbage disposal and watched with pleasure as the water rushed through the garbage disposal. Even better, as the water gurgled through the air gap, it did not leak.
The next day, Efiwym ran the dishwasher and reported that the air gap did not leak. Of course, it shouldn’t!
