You might have dirty clean dishes

• Posted on September 26, 2016
• by mikew
• in Fix It & Use It
• No Comments.

Ever wondered what that little cylinder is for next to the kitchen faucet? Are you wondering about it because you don’t have one of these little decorations? This is called an air gap and it is associated with the proper plumbing for your dishwasher. Quite often dishwasher drain lines are connected directly to your garbage disposal. As many of us know, if we don’t remember to grind our disposal after using the sink the sink backs up. If the dishwasher is hooked up directly to the ungrounded garbage disposal the dirty dishwasher water has only one place to go – back to the clean load of dishes. Water is brilliant because with the help of gravity it always travels to the lowest point available. And it never fails to find it! This dirty water will contaminate the clean, sanitized dishes.

The solution to this possible back flow problem is the installation of an air gap or high loop. The air gap involves the cylinder installed by the sink. Code requires an air gap. If water flows out of the vents when the dishwasher drains it is a clue that there is something obstructing your drain line. This can usually be cleaned out pretty easily. High loops are an acceptable alternative to air gaps for many plumbers. This ensures that the lowest place water can go is your sink rather than the dishwasher.

If you do not have an air gap check to see if the drain line is looped above the bottom of your sink. If not, I recommend that you fix it. It is usually not too involved to do and most do-it-yourselfers are able to handle the repair. The picture to the right shows what an improper installation looks like.