How to Replace a Whirlaway Disposal

Turn off the circuit breaker to the garbage disposal at the breaker box and place an empty plastic bucket underneath the garbage disposal below the sink. Remove the discharge tube from the back of the existing garbage disposal with an adjustable wrench.

Turn the lower mounting ring counterclockwise and lower the existing disposal down, letting any standing water in the disposal drain into the bucket. Turn the disposal over and remove the screws that secure the base plate to the unit with a screwdriver.

Take the base plate off the disposal and undo the wire nut that fastens the unit's electrical wires to the wiring from the power supply. Remove the power supply electrical wiring from the existing garbage disposal and discard the disposal.

Unscrew the flange nut from the bottom of the drain flange and remove the nut. Gently pry the drain flange up from the top of the sink drain with a putty knife and clean any remaining putty debris away with the knife.

Place a 1/2-inch rope of plumber's putty around the top lip of the sink drain and press the drain flange down on top of the putty. Screw the flange nut onto the threads on the bottom of the flange from underneath the sink until the flange is snug against the top of the drain.

Clean any excess putty from the top of the drain flange with a damp cloth and remove the mounting assembly and snap ring from the new Whirlaway disposal. Place the fiber gasket ring over the bottom of the drain flange and fit the snap ring and mounting ring over the bottom of the flange.

Tighten the screws on the mounting ring with the screwdriver and remove the base plate from the bottom of the new disposal with the screwdriver. Place the electrical wiring from the power supply through the hole in the base plate and fasten the power supply electrical wires to the disposal wiring with the wire nut.

Secure the base plate to the bottom of the new disposal and place the disposal in position on the mounting ring with the drain opening facing toward the discharge tube. Turn the mounting ring clockwise around the top of the new disposal until it locks into place.

Attach the discharge tube to the back of the new disposal with the adjustable wrench and run the water in the sink for a few minutes to verify the connections are not leaking. Turn the water off and turn the circuit breaker to the Whirlaway disposal back on at the breaker box.