Garbage Disposal Fiasco

My garbage disposal went out in my main kitchen sink on Monday (did I mention it was a bad day!), and I've been working to replace it.  We had purchased a garbage disposal a while ago for the other sink that had turned out to be too big, so instead of taking it back, we just got a smaller one for that sink and held on to this one, so theoretically, all I needed to do was swap them out.  I started on it Wednesday morning.

Taking the old one out was a challenge.  The directions for removing the disposal were impossible to follow because the builders had installed it in such a way as to make that difficult.  After much frustration, and more than a few think breaks, I finally disassembled the piping all around it, and then jiggled it and yanked on it until it came loose. Whatever works, right?

I got the new sink pieces all put in, and ready to connect to the disposal, but the new disposal was heavy.  Extremely heavy.  So holding it up while trying to cinch the ring on top that holds it up was impossible to do on my own.  I enlisted the help of two 7-year-olds, and stacks of cookbooks to rest it on, but still no luck.  I finally coaxed a visiting friend Wednesday night to hold it for me so I could get it on.  Success!

However, the new disposal was just a bit too wide to use the existing pipe setup.  Which meant that I needed to redesign the plumbing setup to accommodate the new disposal.  That had to wait until yesterday.  A not-so-quick trip to the hardware store to purchase pipes, and I came home with a few that would work.  I had to call home and ask my assistant to text me pictures from under the sink so I could visualize how it was all supposed to go together.  One of the new pipes was an adjustable -- cut to size.  Perfect.

However, apparently NOT with pipe cutters.  That would be too easy.  After twisting and squeezing and scoring and sharpening, I gave up.  A friend suggested a hack saw or hand saw.  I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of that.  Thank you, friend.  That worked.  Phew.

Two days into the project, I felt good, for a moment.  The disposal was installed, and the pipes all connected.  Beautiful.  I ran the dishwasher to test the drain, and the thing started pouring water out of the air gap into the sink. Not only that, but it was leaking all down the pipes below as well.

After taking the dishwasher drain pipe off where it connected to the disposal, I saw that it was all clogged, so I cleaned it out and re-installed.  I tested it again, but it still spewed water in all the wrong places.  I decided to disconnect it from the other end, and while yanking and twisting and pulling and yanking to get it off, the disposal fell off.  Ugh.

I had to undo all the piping that I had just put together. I was about ready to chuck the thing at someone, but my husband was working from home, so I asked him to help hold it up while I put it back on.  Only, at some point in the jostling to get it into position, it somehow fell... right onto the hand (mine) that was holding it from the bottom.  Did I mention this thing is heavy?  It crushed my finger under the metal edge around its bottom, and my finger popped open like an over-ripe tomato.  Literally.  It was instantly numb from the crushing, so although I was screaming obscenities, I think it was mostly from frustration because pain doesn't generally bother me.  It took me a moment, after throwing the disposal wrench across the kitchen (which is unlike me, I don't usually throw things) to realize I'm bleeding.  My husband told me to calm down, so I screamed at him, too.


At this point I am pissed off, frustrated, and bleeding... but the necessity of cleaning and bandaging calmed me down.  The kids (yes, I'm swearing at the top of my lungs with a house full of kids, you don't have to tell me that that's bad) are fascinated by my bloody, blackened finger, so they watch as I cleaned and bandaged it. It was an interesting wound, completely purple and numb.  The cut isn't squirting blood like a fingertip cut generally does, but rather the blood is kind of bubbling out of it.  The throbbing didn't commence until sometime later.


I should probably have gone to the hospital and gotten stitches, but I was too pissed off to care.  Today I'm paying for it.  I have had to disinfect and reapply the stitch taping.  Oh well.  It's just a finger...  :-)


But on a lighter note...  I graduate today.