Day: May 14, 2021

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Can You Pour Cooking Grease Down the Drain? No. Here’s Why

Your kitchen sink drain is where unwanted liquids go — dirty dishwater, expired milk and that cup of coffee you made but forgot to drink. Cooking oils and liquid grease seem to fit into this category. However, dumping that stuff down the drain is a great way to get a greasy blockage in your pipes.

This May Also Interest You: Snake’s in a Drain! How to Unclog Your Sink With a Drain Snake

So, no. You really shouldn’t pour grease, oil or animal fat down any kind of drain, including your toilet. The reason why is a little gross, but you need to hear it …

What Happens If You Pour Grease Down the Drain?

When you finish cooking bacon, the grease in the pan is a liquid. Let it sit for a few hours at room temperature and it’ll harden. That’s exactly what happens in your pipes if you pour liquid grease down the drain or garbage disposal. But when it congeals in your pipes, it gums up the works.

At first, you may notice water drains from your sink slower than before. Soon, you may experience full backups. If you have a septic system, grease can cause all sorts of problems. All-Clear Septic & Wastewater Services of Massachusetts warns that, if you ignore fat buildup, eventually, your pipes may have to be dug up and replaced.

What If the Oil Is Liquid at Room Temperature?

Cooking oils will stay liquid no matter how long you let them sit out — but oil and water still don’t mix. According to Mike Wilson Plumbing of Virginia, liquid oils coat the inside of your pipes, creating a sticky trap for food scraps and an ideal environment for clogs.

What Else Shouldn’t Go Down the Drain?

A good rule of thumb is never to pour cooking oils or grease from cooked meat down the drain. But to avoid buildup, Hunker says you should avoid dumping these, too:

  • Salad dressing
  • Coconut oil
  • Peanut butter
  • Butter
  • Lard
  • Mayonnaise
  • Cosmetic oils
  • Petroleum jelly

Can I Pour Grease Down the Drain With Dish Soap?

Dish soap is designed to break down the grease on your pots, pans and plates, but it’s not powerful enough to dissolve large amounts of oil. While it may help flush fatty deposits out of your own pipes, the grease is just pushed farther into the sewer system or your septic tank.

‘Fatbergs’

If your pipes are connected to a city sewer system, pouring grease down the drain can cause problems on a much larger scale. In the sewer, your hardened grease mixes with everyone else’s, forming an ever-growing, solid mass of fat. Indiscriminate flushing of non-flushable items — Q-tips, floss and even “flushable” wipes — clogs the sewers with materials that can’t be broken down. These catch on the globs of fat and combine to create “fatbergs” that can weigh several tons.

This has happened in several major cities around the world, including London and Detroit. (Before you click, be warned: These are pretty gross.) In Baltimore, a massive fatberg caused a million-gallon sewer overflow.

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How to Properly Dispose of Grease

Hopefully, the idea of a bus-size fat mass is enough to convince you that you shouldn’t pour grease down the drain. But you’ll still need to dispose of it somehow.

A little oil in the bottom of a pan can be wiped out with a paper towel. Let larger amounts of grease and butter cool off, then pour them into a disposable container to solidify. Pour cooled cooking oil back into the container it came in or another large jug. Make sure the lid is on tight before you throw it away.

What Can I Do If I Poured Grease Down the Drain?

Any oil, fat or grease you dump down the drain may contribute to these large accumulations in your city’s sewer system or deposits in your septic system — but there are a few things you can do to keep fat from building up in your pipes.

According to Mr. Rooter Plumbing, hot water will turn the grease back into a liquid so it can continue down your pipes. Pour a gallon of boiling water down the drain along with some dish soap. You may also want to run hot water from the faucet. Before you pour any boiling water, check whether your pipes are metal or PVC; PVC pipes could melt under extreme heat.

Some drain cleaners claim to break down greasy clogs, but using them too often isn’t good for your plumbing. Discover Plumbing and Rooter of California recommends a baking-soda-and-vinegar approach. Shake half a cup of baking soda into the drain, then pour an equal amount of white vinegar after it. The fizzing reaction will help dissolve the fat. After 10 minutes, flush it out with boiling water.

Since we’re all home now more than ever, being prepared for unexpected home repairs with a plan from HomeServe is important. Having a plan in place gives you peace of mind knowing that you can simply call our 24/7 repair hotline for covered breakdowns. See what plans are available in your neighborhood.

Never Flush These 11 Things Down Your Toilet
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Never Flush These 11 Things Down Your Toilet

We all put things down our toilet that aren’t exactly supposed to be there — whether out of convenience or ignorance. But you should know that your habit of flushing cat litter or Q-tips might be harmful to both your house’s septic system and your city’s sewer system.

This May Also Interest You: How to Fix a Clogged Toilet

When you flush your toilet, the wastewater drains into your pipes, then into the city sewer system or your septic tank. Items that don’t belong in your pipes can create massive clogs, which could result in your septic system backing up into your home. In severe cases, New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection says trash can clog citywide sewer pipes and damage the equipment at wastewater treatment facilities.

Say it with us: “My septic system is not designed to handle anything other than human waste and toilet paper.”

In theory, that makes sense. But there are still so many things that seem flushable. These are some of the most commonly flushed items — and the reasons why you should keep them out of the toilet:

1. ‘Flushable’ Products

This one’s kind of a paradox: Almost everything labeled “flushable” shouldn’t be flushed. According to Templeton, Calif.’s Water Conservation Department, “flushable” only means that an item can be flushed without clogging the toilet. But that’s not a good metric by which to judge whether something will be harmful to your septic system or your city’s sewer system. Most so-called flushable items — wipes, diapers, seat covers and cleaning products — don’t break down completely, which can cause clogs later on.

2. Bathroom Trash

Bathroom waste often gets chucked into the toilet just because of proximity. After all, the toilet also transports waste from one place to another, right? Avoid the temptation and throw these items in the trash instead:

  • Dental floss
  • Q-tips and cotton balls
  • Menstrual products
  • Band-Aids
  • Contact lenses
  • Condoms
  • Disposable masks and gloves

3. Food

Tell your kids to stop flushing their bread crusts. According to Mr. Rooter Plumbing, your toilet is not the place for food scraps. Food doesn’t break down the same way as human waste, which means it might end up sitting in your pipes for a while. Scraps like bones or fruit pits will take a long time to break down, and oils and fats will solidify in the pipes.

4. Non-Toilet Paper

Have you ever seen a paper towel commercial? You know how the advertiser will show off the strength of the product by using a few paper towels to carry a watermelon (or another heavy object)? Toilet paper commercials rarely feature such a segment because toilet paper is designed to break down as soon as it hits the water. Other paper products — like tissues, wipes and paper towels — are supposed to hold up under the same circumstances. For that reason, they can build up in sewer systems and cause blockages.

While we’re at it, don’t flush newspaper, documents, photos, paper packaging or the cardboard toilet paper roll, either.

5. Medicine and Prescriptions

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, flushing pharmaceuticals can harm waterways because wastewater treatment plants aren’t designed to remove these substances from the water. The chemicals in over-the-counter and prescription medications can harm fish and contaminate drinking water.

That said, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a “Flush List” of commonly abused prescription medications that have been deemed OK to flush if you can’t locate a drug take-back location.

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6. Diapers

Flushing a diaper is a one-way ticket to a clogged toilet. Wastewater Treatment Services of Texas says diapers won’t break down in the water. So, even if you can flush one without clogging the system initially, you may have some expensive repairs waiting for you down the line. Baby wipes — though they may pass without a clog — shouldn’t be flushed, either.

7. Fish

Pet fish have long been dignified with water burials — but it turns out that flushing your fish is harmful to more than just your septic system. Sometimes your little finned friend that’s gone belly up hasn’t actually expired, and contrary to what you may believe, your toilet isn’t a direct line to the ocean. This means that your fish may wind up dying in a wastewater treatment plant. Or — as Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper explains — your pet goldfish might accidentally end up in a local waterway after an overflow, where it’s an invasive species that may harm other wildlife.

8. Cat Litter

If you prefer furry friends, you may have considered throwing their waste in the toilet. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s usually fine to flush doggy doo, as long as it’s not in a plastic bag. It’ll be treated just like human waste.

The same does not apply if you have a cat who uses a litter box. Just take this warning from Supeck Septic Services of Medina, Ohio: “Flushing kitty litter — even ‘flushable’ kitty litter — wreaks havoc on your septic system and can quickly lead to catastrophic, whole-system failure.”

9. Hair

Long hair likes to stick to the inside of pipes. According to American Water, flushing a clump of hair can create a net-like structure that traps other objects, leading to clogs.

10. Nail Clippings

Like hair, fingernail and toenail clippings are technically organic matter, but that doesn’t mean they’ll break down in your septic tank. Avoid problems by clipping your nails into the trash can, instead.

11. Chemicals or Poisons

Automotive chemicals, fuels, solvents and poisons should stay far away from your toilet, as they can harm your drain lines. According to the National Agricultural Safety Database, these toxic substances can leach into the soil or contaminate groundwater and waterways. To be safe, never pour these things down any household drain, including your toilet:

  • Paint or paint thinner
  • Gasoline, kerosene or lighter fluid
  • Antifreeze, motor oil or brake fluid
  • Pesticides or fertilizers
  • Pest poisons

Since we’re all home now more than ever, being prepared for unexpected home repairs with a plan from HomeServe is important. Having a plan in place gives you peace of mind knowing that you can simply call our 24/7 repair hotline for covered breakdowns. See what plans are available in your neighborhood.