GARBAGE DISPOSER

Today I replaced the garbage disposer unit. I just needed to replace the unit because I think I burned out the engine or something when I was foolin' with it the other day. It was humming, but wasn't grinding. Turns out there's a little tool you can use to unjam the dumb thing, but I didn't know that. What I got for messin' with it was a nasty smellin' odor that reminded me of burnt plastic.

So I tried installing the thing and it turned out that I needed to detach the power cord from the older unit and install it onto the new one. I wasn't sure how to do this so I went to Ace Hardware to get some help. They were very helpful and did it all for me. All I had to do was pay for the new part which was just $0.13. However, the kid who did the wiring mixed up the wires. It turns out that ribbed wiring is always "neutral" and should be connected to the white wire. The smooth wire is "hot" and must be connected to the black wire. In short, ribbed to white, smooth to black.

Then I had to mount the unit and attach the drainage pipes. Unfortunately, there was no simple screwing in of some plastic nuts. Instead, I had to take two screws and secure them to the drainage pipe. Sounds easy, but the positions you get in when you're under the sink can make you appreciate what plumbers do for a living. It was kind of frustrating, but when the job was done, it was really satisfying. Not that I'd want to do this again any time soon.