My dishwasher is not draining properly and while taking a look at things I realized that the drain hose is not tied into the garbage disposal. Is this incorrect? Are there certain benefits for having it this way?
Plumbing – Are there benefits to having the dishwasher drain into the garbage disposal
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There is a very simple answer to your question. Your dishwasher is draining into the side drain adapter on your garbage disposer. this was a common practice for many years. All the water draining from your dishwasher is being pumped into the upper basin side of the disposer. Solids from the dishwasher are blocking the drain in the disposer, so when you turn on the disposer, it grinds the waste and drains the water. This is actually the way it is suppose to work. Current codes require a separate trap for the dishwasher and not plumbed into the disposer. If you look at the side of your disposer, you will see the hose from the washer attached there. Only fix is to install a new separate trap and drain for the washer. Good luck.
Have a look at the trap under your sink. Assuming it's PVC with large plastic nuts, all you should need is ChannelLock pliers:
Unscrew the trap from the wall and disposal, and clean the trap itself, or snake the drain going into the wall, depending on where your clog is. Be sure to have a bucket and towels handy since there will be water backed up before the clog and in the trap.
If you can't find the clog either in the trap or with the snake, and you know it's further down the drain (try running some water through the disposal and into the bucket with the trap out), then I have family that swear by these drain bladders that attach to a garden hose, get inserted into the drain (past the vent) and they swell up to seal your end of the pipe while sending water down until the clog is forced out:
Each one of these will cost around $20 give or take, well less than a visit from a plumber.
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Best Answer
If you connect it to the garburator, any backups fill the sink, rather than the cabinet under the sink.