Garbage Disposal Repair for DIY Dummies

Ashton forgot this step...

We always find it interesting to consider just how disconnected from reality the freelancers at eHow.com were. It's remarkably easy to tell which contributors (as the site called its freelancers) had no idea why someone might ask the questions they "answered" for a flat stipend. Take, for instance, the self-described "professsional journalist" Ashton Daigle, who wandered "out of his lane" to (attempt to) explain "How to take Apart an InSinkErator" for Hunker.com.

Just as for his previous two awards, Daigle's answer came up short. It came up short because first, Daigle misinterpreted the OQ's needs and second, because Daigle lacked the experience to recognize his problem. Ashton started (as eHowians felt they were required) by explaining what an InSinkErator is:

"The Badger InSinkErator is a popular kitchen home garbage disposal system installed directly under your sink."

We call that gilding the lily, first because of the use of "popular" (later forbidden by DMS¹) and second, because where else would you put a garbage disposal in the home? But that's just the beginning of Ashton's problems. Instead of doing some research to figure out why some DIYer would have problems disassembling a garbage disposal, Daigle did little more than reword the installation instructions, reversing the steps. Naturally, his first step was to turn off the circuit breaker. Apparently, the model Ashton cribbed from didn't have the plug-in option. He finishes, believe it or not, with this step: "Locate the four small screws on the outer cover of your disposal. They are located at the center of the disposal. Remove these screws with a screwdriver. This allows the outer casing of your disposal to separate."

We aren't sure why any ordinary person would want to completely disassemble the disposal: perhaps as a learning experience? After all, there's nothing in there that can be replaced or repaired; even the most frugal homeowner simply replaces the entire disposal or replumbs the sink without one. But what the heck...

Actually, we have people on staff who've replaced disposals, and they tell us that they're 99% sure that the OQ wanted to know how to pull the disposal off the sink. Regardless of his excellent job of rewording backwards instructions for un-wiring and un-plumbing a disposal, Ashton completely blew the most important step. Here's what he says to do to take off the body of the disposal:

4. "Use an open-end wrench to remove the two bolts that fasten the discharge tube to the side of the disposal."
5. "Loosen the three mounting screws at the top of the InSinkErator that fasten it to the bottom of your sink, using the screwdriver."
6. "Turn the disposal upside down and remove the single screw holding the electrical cover plate in place. Use your fingers to disconnect the electrical connections."

Ummm, Ashton? You skipped a couple of steps there, steps that are pretty important:

5. Disconnect the dishwasher discharge tube, if present (and it usually is)...
6. Rotate the mounting until the mounting tabs slide off the ridges on the slideup ramps. Until you do this, the disposal just hangs there... 

Without those steps in Daigle's instructions, the reader is left with a partially disconnected garbage disposal flopping around underneath the sink. We're pretty sure that once a few DIYers figure out they've been hoodwinked by useless instructions courtesy of some journalist and eHow, they'll have even more unkind words for Ashton than just "Dumbass of the Day"!

¹ Demand Media Studios (DMS) discouraged the use of the qualifier "popular"; (rightly) deeming it padding and forbidden without some the inclusion of a metric stating just how popular the brand, item, or [whatever] is...

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