Acid Ate Garbage Disposal?

[NOOB1989]

Hey folks! We just bought a house and found a tiny leak under the sink. Looked like it was coming from the garbage disposal.

Upon further investigation it looks like the plastic portion of the drain has been eaten by acid or something.

Based on the pictures... Is this trash? Sucks as the unit looks pretty new.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Riickk]

I can't imagine what was going on there. The white powdery stuff looks like result of electrolysis.
But, that makes no sense, since you're not mating, say, copper and cast iron.
Is the white deformed section going inside the machine part of an (aftermarket) pvc outlet pipe? If memory serves, Insinkerator OEM was a thick dark grey outlet pipe, that was attached to the disposer with an odd flexible rubber connector.

edit:
If the PVC inside the disposer *is* part of the machine, I think it's toast.
I'd go for a new one, and *not* one of the Evolution models. I have the exact same machine; it tends to clog up easily, due to design. Easy enough to unclog by turning on and running some water, but annoying. Give me back the 1.5 hp auto-reverse monstrosity I had before.

 

[FishScreener]

Is this a meth lab. There isn’t a lot of stuff which will eat the abs or pvc in modern drains.

 

[breplum]

Those models have a good, they come to you, 8 year warranty but unless you have a receipt it would not help.
And whatever ate that is not normal wear and tear.

 

[sawguy]

I've had 3 evolution compacts in 3 different homes and have never seen anything like that!

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

I cannot say enough good things about the American Standard unit sold at Costco. Never clogged, took much more stuff that normally clogs ISE models. Often on sale for $79–a fraction of the ISE model costs.

https://www.costco.com/american-standard-1.25-hp-food-waste-disposer.product.100247195.html

 

[havasu]

Looks like the results of Drano or some other caustic drain cleaner.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

https://www.plasticsintl.com/chemical-resistance-chart
Typical household acids (vinegars, some cleaning products) and typical household caustics (drano and similar) probably would have little effect on typical plastics used in plumbing and plumbing related things such as a disposal. But the original drano, the granulated stuff with aluminum in it, can be pretty hard on anything and everything.

Goodness knows what the prior owner was putting down the sink and disposal. Toss it and get a new one and be sensible about what you put down the disposal.

 

[Jeff Handy]

That looks more like corroded metal, swelled and distorted.
The other whiter stuff might be caulk or some kind of sealant that someone gooped on there as a Hail Mary repair attempt.

 

[FishScreener]

My guess it a fairly stout acid was poured down the drain, and the heat of hydration melted the plastic. Thus my question of, “Was this a crack house?”

You can buy hydrochloric acid, aka muriatic acid at most home center for washing concrete. And, folks will put it down drains. Which can be dangerous, because as it goes into solution with water it gives of heat. Sometimes enough heat to get he water to boiling, which results in near instantaneous spewing of still very concentrated acid.

A homeowner here decide that it would generate enough heat to break up the ice plug in his drainage line. Had he added a little at a time he might have been fine, but he dumped an entire gallon down a 4-inch clean out, and got burned when most of it came straight back at him.

 

[NOOB1989]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you all. After about 5 minutes of consideration and some googling. I just bought a new one. Stayed with the brand as they make it super easy to swap. I went with this one. So far so good. https://www.lowes.com/pd/InSinkErat...-Noise-Insulation-Garbage-Disposal/1000068729

 

[NOOB1989]

Oh...and as for it being a crack house LOL. It's a townhouse in Uptown Dallas so that seems doubtful...but who knows

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you all. After about 5 minutes of consideration and some googling. I just bought a new one. Stayed with the brand as they make it super easy to swap. I went with this one. So far so good. https://www.lowes.com/pd/InSinkErat...-Noise-Insulation-Garbage-Disposal/1000068729

My goodness that's expensive...like about 3x+ what I paid for my [1.25 HP] American Standard...the "three bolt mounts" are supposed to be compatible (but I don't trust that anyway) so what the heck, I just changed the whole mount when I did mine.

Maybe this one won't melt on you.