Treating your sink drains like trash receptacles isn’t the greatest plan. While the items that you pour down the drain disappear from view, they can cause a plumbing problem later on. Read ahead to find three items that you should keep away from your sink drain from now on:
Cooking Grease
Tossing cooking grease down the kitchen sink is a popular problem. When the ingredient is hot, it’s a liquid, so many assume it’s completely fine to put down the drain as you do with water, milk and other beverages.
What they don’t realize is that grease hardens as it cools and clings to the walls of your pipes. Since it is a fat, it doesn’t break down easily on its own — it will stick to the surface and collect more food that gets through the drain. The best way to dispose of grease is to pour it out of the pan into a bowl while it’s still warm and let it harden, then wipe it up with a piece of paper towel and toss it in the compost bin.
The ingredient is well-known for creating stubborn plumbing clogs that will be really difficult for you to get rid of on your own. If you have a bad habit of pouring cooking grease into your kitchen sink and you get a clog that just won’t go away, you should calla company like Morrison Plumbing & Mechanical for help.
The plumbing company is prepared to deal with any sink clog. They can use a water jetter to blast off the greasy build-up. You should click here for more info about the drain cleaning services that they can offer and then send them an email to get a free estimate right away.
Coffee Grounds
In the same vein as cooking grease, coffee grounds are one of the things you should never pour in the drain because they build up in the pipes and form blockages. Liquid coffee is fine, but the coffee grounds can’t go down the sink.
People with green thumbs will be happy to hear that they can compost coffee grounds in their personalized bins and use it for their gardening come spring-time. Aficionados praise the kitchen waste for adding nutrients to the soil and helping plants thrive. Next time you think of dumping that paper filter into your sink, save it for your trees and flowers.
Hazardous Chemicals
It’s wise to keep harmful household chemicals away from your kitchen sink because the substances could come in contact with the food you eat or the dishes you use. You should also avoid tossing them in the drain because they are not good for the municipal wastewater treatment system. Products like paint, window washer fluid, nail polish remover and pesticides should be dropped off at a designated hazardous waste depot instead.
In the end, the best trick for maintaining a clear sink drain is to never put the wrong things into it. Items like cooking grease, coffee grounds and hazardous chemicals can all be safely discarded in their respective ways. While it may seem easy and convenient to just throw them down the sink where you can’t see them – the repercussions can be very, very costly.
As is the case many features of your home, it’s also important to know the ‘weak spots’ that you have to deal with. For example, many rural homes across the country have to deal with hard water (check out this blog to learn about detecting hard water and tips for dealing with it) and others have to deal with antiquated plumbing systems. These types of plumbing problems are especially troublesome for home with older plumbing systems. Take the time to dispose of these materials properly and you won’t have to find out the hard way that these repairs can be costly!