Garbage disposal leak from bottom fixes itself?

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Dmass

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Towson, MD
We have a drain pipe that has gotten clogged in the past. We have a mesh strainer now and are careful about putting greasy stuff down the sink and don't use the garbage disposal much.

Monday night, to do some preventative maintenance, I poured Green Gobbler Drain Clog Dissolver down the kitchen sink and left it overnight, per the instructions. Tuesday morning, I poured very hot water down the drain, again per the instructions. Tuesday afternoon, I came home after my wife had run the dishwasher, and saw that water had pooled in the cabinet underneath the sink. Whenever I turned on the faucet, water leaked from the bottom of the garbage disposal. Thinking it was dead, I made an appointment for Thursday for a plumber to come and replace the disposal.

But today, Thursday, the disposal is mysteriously no longer leaking. Could the issue somehow have resolved itself? Maybe the dissolver and the hot water loosened an internal seal and then it hardened back up or something? Is that possible?

Anyone ever had experience with something like this? Seems very weird that it could stop leaking like that.
 
Disposals can leak then stop but they always start back up.

Fill the sink with warm water and pull the stopper then turn the disposal on.

Or you can pull the electrical cover off the bottom and check for water or rust.
 
Sorry, I should have posted a photo before.

So weird that it can leak and then stop. It wasn't just a drip drip either. With the faucet on, water poured out in two or three places on the bottom, including the reset button.

I am assuming that I'll have to replace it pretty soon though.
 

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I give it a week at most and it’ll be pouring again if that’s where the water initially came from.
 
Could you explain about the venting and s trap? I don't know anything about plumbing. Thanks.
 
Could you explain about the venting and s trap? I don't know anything about plumbing. Thanks.
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You have an S-trap as shown on the left. They are not per code as the water in the trap can be siphoned, that is the water in the trap can be pulled out, by drainage from another fixture flowing in the line downstream from the S-trap causing a vacuum in the drain line.

A P-trap is shown on the right which is per code. The line going vertically up is a vent that allows air into the drain piping making it impossible for other drains to pull a vacuum and siphon or pull the water out of the trap.
 

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