The disposal has to be in place so that the drain on the dishwasher is connected. If you do not have a disposal or are removing it, there is a extension tube for the drain that has the dishwasher tube in it. The disposal does not have to work for the dishwasher to drain. The water is run through the disposal so that any food particles get ground before going in the drain. After a while, the disposal will begin to smell if it is not run.
Yes. Your dishwasher discharge hose is probably hooked into the side of the disposal. Running your disposal will not hurt the dishwasher.
Yes if you do not you could break your garbage disposal.
Your air gap is not supposed to leak. Check the hose that leads from the air gap to the garbage disposal for a clog. This should resolve your problem.
Check and see if the water line going from the dishwasher to the disposal has enough slack to run up and over the connection to the disposal.If its just running along the cabinet floor and straight up into the disposal that's the problem.Its called an anti siphon loop
Both
Depending on how much stuff you would typically run through your disposal would be whatever power garbage disposal you need to get.
Put ice cubes in disposal and run water as usual until ice cubes are shredded.
One of the most common problems encountered with a garbage disposal occurs when you try to turn the disposal on, but nothing happens. If you are experiencing this issue, there are several things you can try to fix the garbage disposal yourself before you go through the trouble of calling a professional repairman or replacing the disposal completely. Before you try anything, however, always remember that you should never put your hand down the drain and into the disposal as this is extremely dangerous. If your garbage disposal makes absolutely no noise when it is turned on, this signals that the problem is electrical in nature. The first thing you should do is verify that the garbage disposal is connected to the power source. Obviously, if the disposal isn't plugged in, it will not run. If you find that the disposal is properly connected to power, try pressing the Reset button typically located on the bottom of the disposal unit. In the event that pressing Reset doesn't work, the next thing you can do is check the circuit breaker to see if it has been turned off or tripped. If it has been tripped, simply turn it back on. If you have checked the power, reset the unit, and checked the circuit breaker and your disposal still refuses to make a sound, there is either something wrong with the switch or the disposal may need to be replaced. To check the switch, you must first locate it. It may be on the wall near the disposal or under the sink. Once you have located the switch, you can replace it to see if that solves the problem. Before you replace the switch, however, you must disable the circuit breaker that powers the garbage disposal. After you have replaced the switch, you should turn the circuit breaker back on and check to see if your garbage disposal is working. If the switch was faulty, the garbage disposal should run normally. In the event that none of the suggestions detailed above are successful, it is likely that your garbage disposal cannot be repaired and you will need to replace it. You can either do this yourself or call a professional to install the new disposal.
Probably not, depends on where the clog is at and how the dishwasher drain is connected. I wouldn't chance it, but the worst that will happen is the sink will fill with the water from the dishwasher.
You can put the whole can in. Just be sure to run enough water with them.
Yes, even it is not working, water will still run through it.Yes, even it is not working, water will still run through it.
To deodorize a garbage disposal you can either put some baking soda in the drain and let it sit for a while or my favorite is to run lemon peels through the disposal after you do the dishes every night. You can use orange peels, too. Just make sure the pieces are small enough to run through without clogging it.