A kitchen sink drain is probably one of the most notorious plumbing service calls we get. The kitchen sink is the most used sink in the house and is not only used for washing hands, but for preparing meals and cleaning dishes. One of the biggest culprits plaguing kitchen sink drains is food and grease. A great way to avoid food going down your drain is to place a basket strainer in the drain opening. But what to do about grease.....and is it really that big a deal if you do happen to pour cooking grease down the drain?
How Grease Ruins Your Plumbing
We've all been there. Breakfast time is over and we are hurrying to get the dishes cleaned up so we can get on to the day's activities. The largest pan is still on the stove containing the bacon grease and it's waiting to be cleaned. In a rush there might be an internal debate. Tossing the grease from the food down the drain would be much quicker. Who has time to find a container to store the grease in and let it sit out until cooled or hardened enough to throw it in the trash? But using the drain to dispose of grease could end up wasting more time and costing more money in the long run as opposed to just throwing cooking grease in the trash.
The reason grease is such a drain-blocking culprit is because of how fats in grease attach themselves to other foreign objects. When the grease leaves your sink it flows down your pipes and into your city's sewer pipes where it is mixed together with other waste water. The fats from grease get broken down into their component parts; fatty acids and glycerol. The fatty acids bind calcium found in sewers and can lead to corrosion of concrete. The fats in grease and oils attach themselves onto other chemicals in the sewer systems and in your pipes. This forms a conglomeration of fats, chemicals and other inorganic particles that begin to build up in your pipes and the city sewer pipes. The more blockage there is in the pipes, the less dirty waste water can flow through them. This can eventually become so bad that the sewers and pipes can become compounded with fats, oils and all the things they carry with them.
If you have a clog in your home, it may be easily fixed by a drain cleaner that can unclog the blockage and clean out your kitchen sink pipes. However while your drain may be clear, the greasy conglomerates just get washed down the city sewer afterwards which can lead to even bigger problems. In the UK it took a team weeks to power-wash and clean out London's sewer system where a 17 ton mass of fatty compounds had become lodged in the sewer system.
How to Properly Dispose of Grease
1. LET IT HARDEN
If you have a small amount of grease to get rid of, the easiest solution is to let it harden. Pour the liquid grease in dish and wait for it to harden. Once it is hardened into a solid, scrape the grease into the trash. To make it even easier, pour the grease into a disposable container and once it is hardened toss the whole thing.
If you have a small amount of grease to get rid of, the easiest solution is to let it harden. Pour the liquid grease in dish and wait for it to harden. Once it is hardened into a solid, scrape the grease into the trash. To make it even easier, pour the grease into a disposable container and once it is hardened toss the whole thing.
2. SOP IT UP
This is a great method to use while browning meat that has excess grease you'd like to dispose of. Using a paper towel, you can soak up any extra grease and throw the paper towel away in the trash. This is also ideal if there is a very small amount of grease that needs to be thrown away.
This is a great method to use while browning meat that has excess grease you'd like to dispose of. Using a paper towel, you can soak up any extra grease and throw the paper towel away in the trash. This is also ideal if there is a very small amount of grease that needs to be thrown away.
3. RECYCLE IT
Some cities actually offer fat and oil recycling. This is perfect if you are using a lot of oil at one time. For example, frying a turkey uses a lot of oil that needs to be thrown away.
Some cities actually offer fat and oil recycling. This is perfect if you are using a lot of oil at one time. For example, frying a turkey uses a lot of oil that needs to be thrown away.
A great habit to form is to wipe out pots and pans that have been used during cooking before you wash them. This can ensure as little grease as possible goes down the drain and into the sewer.
What to do When Grease Ends up in the Drain
Even the smallest amount of grease down the drain adds up, especially in large cities with a lot of restaurants, or in older homes that have had many years of grease poured down the drain. If everyone in your neighborhood, apartment building or street poured one tablespoon of grease down the drain every week, it would start to add up and create blockages very quickly.
So, if grease has gone down your drain, is there a way to fix it? Well not entirely, but there are ways to minimize the damage. You can wash out your sink drain with boiling water and a mixture of vinegar and baking soda. This will help push it out of your pipes, however it will still be able to coagulate in the main water system or further down in your own waste plumbing system.
These grease disposal bags are perfect for any kitchen that loves to cook foods such as bacon or other foods that require grease or oil disposal. |
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Amanda Klecker, Zell Plumbing & Heating