Clogged kitchen drains are a harrowing experience for most people. They need a ton of effort and time to clear up. Majority of homeowners usually end up opting to call in their local plumber to perform this task. Frequent drain clogs can thus be very time consuming and costly.
As bad as this all sounds, there are ways to prevent this from happening to you! Being a little more mindful of what goes down your drain can go a long way in preventing future kitchen sink clogs.
Here are our top 4 things that should never go down your kitchen drain:
Coffee Grounds
We all love a nice steaming hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Who wouldn’t?
After gulping down your fresh cup of brew, the dreaded clean-up ensues. But what do you do with your leftover coffee grounds? If your answer is down the kitchen sink, I hate to break it to you, but that’s a huge no-no.
When you dispose of your coffee grounds down a sink drain, they tend to have this nasty habit of clumping up in the pipes. Rather than dumping your grounds down the sink, you can compost them. Or if you’re a bit of a green thumb, spread them around your outdoor garden. Old coffee grounds make a wonderful natural deterrent to a variety of garden pests!
Rice, Grains and Pasta
This one might come as a surprise. Rice, grains, and pasta may seem harmless and friendly to your sink at first. Yet, the real truth is that they can be a real pain. Starchy foods like rice and pasta expand and increase in size after contact with water. After some time, clumps of this can form a solid barrier, preventing water from passing.
A single grain or a single strand falling down your sink isn’t much of a big deal. But, small amounts overtime could spell trouble for your sink drain. Keep this in mind the next time you’re using your sink to wash rice or drain pasta.
Flour
We all know what happens when you mix flour and water together. Whether you bake or not, everyone is somewhat familiar with the formation of dough. Now imagine that happening inside your drain. The result is a sticky mess with the consistency of Elmer’s glue that can, over time, harden inside your piping. You definitely do not want this stuff down your drain. So don’t go around dumping bags of flour down it, unless you intend to make a doughy mess out of your kitchen’s drain.
Fat, Oil, and Grease
We are all guilty of this one. Ever cook bacon or anything using cooking oil, and end up instinctively emptying the contents down the sink before washing the dishes? This happens all too often. Majority of the drain cleaning calls we service are often caused by hardened grease.
Anything with a high fat content should never go down your drain. When cooled, they solidify, and can act as a binding agent for other materials that go down your drain. Forming a thick mass that coats piping, which overtime can completely block pipes in both your home’s plumbing system and sewage lines on City property.
You can find fat, oil, and grease in a variety of foodstuffs including:
- meats and bacon
- lards, shortening, cooking oil, butter and margarine
- scraps of food and baking goods
- sauces, salad dressings and gravies
- dairy products
- soups
- sandwich spreads
Best way to dispose of fat, oil, and grease is by allowing it to cool and solidify first, before tossing it out in the trash or organics bin if you have one.
Additionally, you can save and reuse cooking oil. For instance, you can freeze bacon grease for around a month. You can then use it later to add some extra flavouring to your fave dishes like sautéed veggies or pan fried grilled cheese sandwiches.
Drain Cleaning With True Service Plumbing
Clogged kitchen sink got you beat and it’s just too much for you to handle? No worries, leave the wet stuff to us!
Our licensed plumbers will assess your home’s plumbing system and determine the root cause of your issue, and perform the services necessary to get your clogged drains running again.
From clogged kitchen sinks, plumbing future installation and replacement, to a total kitchen makeover – True Service Plumbing has your back when it comes to all things plumbing.
Contact True Service Plumbing today to schedule a free estimate and consultation.
