Garbage Disposal Replacement- Easy DIY

[BuffaloStache]

After 15 long years of service, the garbage disposal finally went out this week. My in-laws were in town and my MIL immediately said "lets call a plumber", to which I replied "not so fast, let me see how hard it is to replace". After a quick Youtube video search, I found that it was in fact relatively simple and straightforward to replace the garbage disposal. So, I went to the store and bought the same make/model (just newer) disposal and swapped it out in literally 10 minutes. It was a breeze and I'm convinced any mustachian could do it!

I basically followed this video: https://youtu.be/E0WTUcp85_0

Old gross, worn out garbage disposal:


New disposal, installed:


Pro Tip: By buying the same brand of disposal as the old one, I didn't even need to bother swapping out the old mounting hardware in the sink. It still would've been simple to do so, but this made an easy job even easier!

[Jon Bon]

Nice work!

You probably saved yourself $200 bucks.

Keep an eye on it over time thought. IME they tend to shake their connections loose and leak sometimes.

[BuffaloStache]

Keep an eye on it over time thought. IME they tend to shake their connections loose and leak sometimes.

Good to know. The unit I bought came with a special tool to make tightening it a breeze. I kept the tool so hopefully it'll be easy to keep it on the sink.

[neo von retorch]

Oh this reminds me! My last place, an apartment rented with my brand new wife - the garbage disposal didn't work at all. Only... it was just super clogged. Not sure what the previous tenants thought, apparently that there is nothing you can't put in there. Hair pins, fruit pits, shards of glass! Removed all the junk and it fired right up.

[MasterStache]

Swapped ours out recently as well. Previous one was only 2 years old but had developed a leak in the casing on one side and a hole on the other. I went with a different upgraded model. So far so good and piece of cake to swap out.

[MightyAl]

I just replaced mine too.  Be sure to take out the knock out for the dishwasher or else the dishwasher won't drain.  Ask me how I know.

[BuffaloStache]

^this advice is very important for those who have a dishwasher that typically drains into the disposal. I'm lucky in that there is already a separate drain in my kitchen, so I didn't need to do this.

[boarder42]

yeah i did mine at my old house its a simple DIY.

[NextTime]

Agree it is easy DIY. I didn't replace mine, but I did completely remove it and put it back when replacing the kitchen sink. Didn't even watch a tutorial on it (though in hindsight I probably should have youtubed it).

I consider myself pretty average when it comes to handiness, so anybody should be able to do this.

[Lan Mandragoran]

In my limited experience it always pays to try and DIY any plumbing stuff.... It can suck.... but lots of $$$ available to be saved.