Not too long ago, the thought of having a dishwasher would seem a luxury. These days, it is uncommon to find a home, or even an apartment, without one. That said, what do you do if yours breaks down, or if you just want to upgrade the one you have?
While many people would go to their local appliance store or home center, buy one, and have them install it, we at Allstar Plumbing feel that that may not be the best course of action. To be precise, going out and buying one is fine, but we would caution you against having the store’s tech perform your dishwasher installation.
In this article we will discuss why it is always better to have a plumbing professional install your dishwasher.
What’s Wrong with the Appliance Store Guy?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure he is a great guy, but a plumbing professional? Most likely, he is not. There are really two possible scenarios:
1 – The guy is actually a store employee. In this case, he is somewhat trained in everything the store carries. He may even know how to repair the dishwasher itself, if it breaks, but a plumber? No.
2 – He is a “plumber” who is subcontracted by the store. In these cases, you are looking at the bottom of the rung, as far as plumbers go. The store is looking for the cheapest people they can get to do these installs, for obvious reasons.
Why Does this Matter to Me?
Very simply put, properly installing a dishwasher can make or break the usefulness of the appliance. There are also sanitary concerns that you likely do not know about.
Let’s start with the installation itself… It needs to be secured, level, and properly spaced from the edge of the cabinet, or any number of problems can happen. These range from the door not closing properly, to rattling during operation, to other issues.
Now, the water line has to be properly connected, without leaks or kinks in the line. The discharge hose needs to be free of obstruction or kinks as well. Smash that line during installation, and water will go everywhere… very quickly.
The biggest problem with dishwasher installation, however, is regarding the discharge lines and how they are connected to the drain. You know that little cylindrical thing mounted to your sink, right next to the faucet? It is called an air gap.
Air gaps are very inexpensive little gadgets, but can be a real pain to install and hook up properly… that is, if you don’t know what you’re doing. The purpose of them is to insure that water can flow freely from the dishwasher to the disposer or drain (usually the disposer) without the possibility of syphonage. If not hooked up properly, the waste water can wind up flowing out of the air gap, all over the sink, or worse yet, the water from the disposer could wash into your dishwasher! Very unsanitary.
The bottom line is that, if you want your dishwasher installation done properly, you really should trust it to a professional. Go ahead and get your dishwasher, and then give Allstar Plumbing a call to install it. You will not regret the decision.
