Dishwashers are an essential part of a home’s appliances. They are so useful that in the past two years the household ownership of dishwashers has grown up to more than 80%, compared to 2018’s 40%. They come in handy every day and serve loyally for years. Inevitably, though, there comes a time when your good old dishwasher breaks down due to wear and tears, a technical issue, or simply age. If your cutlery & crockery cleaning partner in crime’s time has come too, this article is for you.
In case you are worried about the disconnection process being difficult, time-consuming and intimidating, hate to break it to you, but you’re correct. Disconnecting any appliance is no joke because electricity is involved, which is dangerous enough on its own. Now combine that electricity with a water supply and pipes – that’s what you’re dealing with here. Nevertheless, if you are set on disconnecting your old dishwasher and willing to take the risks, keep on reading.
Arm up
You definitely cannot pull this off with your bare hands. There are some mandatory tools you will need in order to safely disconnect everything – piping and cables. Here is a list of your must-have items:
- Some sort of vessel to collect water in;
- A spanner for all the nuts. Best case scenario – an adjustable one;
- A good set of screwdrivers, including a 6-point star screwdriver (a.k.a TORX screwdriver);
- Caps for the pipes. Even if you plan on mounting a new dishwasher in the old one’s place, you will still need caps to stop the water until you do it. (We recommend researching what pipe caps you’ll need before you begin, so that you are prepared. Most of the time dishwasher pipes use regular caps, but sometimes they are a bit different. You can find all cap types for a cheap price online.);
- Water-resistant tape in case you damage a pipe or to position pipes upwards to prevent leakage;
- Towels. Lots of towels.
So, assuming you have all the above-mentioned tools, all you need to do now is free up as much space as possible, so that you can position yourself in a way that allows you to reach the back of the dishwasher and get to work.
Lights out
As with every other appliance you want to disconnect and remove, you should first cut off the power supply. In most situations, this is as easy as unplugging the plug from the socket. That, however, is not always the case. Some dishwashers are hardwired to some sort of power supply, meaning that unless you have the knowledge and skills to disconnect it by yourself, you should probably call an electrician to do it for you. This process involves shutting off the correct fuser/breaker in your fuse/break box.
Note: Always remember to check the voltage with a voltage detector to make sure you have cut off the right energy source.
Find a way to stop the water supply
Now that you have double-checked to ensure there is no voltage and your dishwasher is completely unplugged from the power source, it’s time to move on to the next step – finding the valve that controls the water supply. Since this appliance is almost always situated in the kitchen near the sink, you should look there. 99% of the time there is a small valve on the main pipe – turn that off.
There is a small chance that there won’t be a valve there. This means that you will have to shut off the water supply of your home completely in order to prevent flooding your home when removing the pipes. Here’s where the spanner comes in handy. Next up, follow the piping that leads to your dishwasher and disconnect the pipes. Use the caps on the open-ended conduits and proceed to the next step.
Disconnect the waste pipe
Grab your towels and buckets – it’s time for the last phase of the dishwasher disconnecting process. The drain conduit is usually connected to the sink line. It is very likely that the pipe is fastened by a screw or a bolt. Use the appropriate tool to loosen it up, after positioning a water-collecting vessel below the waste pipe. A stream of wastewater will leak out, collect it and use a cap on that pipe as well.
Note: If you want to prevent excessive water leakage and make the capping process easier, you can tape the drain conduit of the dishwasher with the water supplying one together in an upwards position.
Congratulations! Your trusty old dishwasher is finally disconnected! Unless…
Integrated dishwasher?
Sadly, there is one extra step if your dishwasher is secured (integrated) into your kitchen counter by bolts, screws and nuts. Grab your screwdrivers and spanners and finalize the process. Begin from the top ones and proceed downwards. This task is relatively easy, compared to everything you went through up ‘till now. There might be various screws used in the integrating process, most likely TORX ones, since they are pretty commonly used when it comes to appliances.
Now that you’ve disconnected your dishwasher completely – from the power source, from the water supply and from the kitchen itself, you are finally done and your appliance is ready for disposal. Find a helping hand and slowly lift it up and get it out, while being careful not to scratch the floor or carpet with the dishwasher’s legs.
You were warned. Disconnecting a dishwasher is a hard, risky and lengthy endeavour that requires multiple skills, tools and a lot of patience. It’s up to you whether you’d like to do this yourself or…
Hire Rainbow Rubbish Removals!
Disconnecting a dishwasher is a part of our dishwasher disposal service. That’s right! You won’t receive any extra charges for hiring our professional team for your old appliance’s removal. Not only that, but we will also take care of the old thing after we disconnect it, making sure it gets recycled and dealt with in the most eco-friendly way possible. Don’t hesitate to get your own personal quote today and describe your situation and requirements. We will call you as soon as we possibly can to arrange a date and time most suitable for you. We have years of experience in appliance removal and disposal and will gladly do any disposal and clearance job for you. Check out the other services we provide. You don’t want it, we got it!