Kitchen Tip: Where Does Your Dishwasher Drain?

I've rented at two places while I was in college where the dishwasher drained through the aerator into the sink. It SHOULD NOT be draining here. When a garbage disposal is installed as well as a dishwasher, there is a little plastic plug on the garbage disposal that needs to be removed manually IF you have a dishwasher that needs to drain into the sink pipes. The dishwasher hose is attached to this spot on the garbage disposal and will drain into the garbage disposal rather than into the sink through the aerator.

If your dishwasher drains at the wrong place, loosen up the hose from the dishwasher (have a bucket ready and hold your breath because the water that drains is really GROSS). Take a hammer and nail and pound out the little plastic plug on the side of the disposal and then re-attach your dishwasher drain. It'll work great from here on out.

I did this in two different places I lived because whoever installed the garbage disposal hadn't removed the plastic plug when they installed the garbage disposal. This was super important in the second place I rented because the aerator was cracked and when the dishwasher would drain, we had to run over and hold it down or the water pressure would push off the aerator and spray on the ceiling. My dad, an appliance repairman, walked me through the process. He's the best!