Why It’s Bad to Pour Grease Down the Drain

A lot of people are in the habit of pouring cooking grease down the drain. Some of them do it without knowing that it can lead to expensive repairs, while others know it’s bad, but they do it anyway.

You might remember your mother or father telling you not to pour the ground beef grease down the drain. As an adult, perhaps you follow this advice 9 out of 10 times, or perhaps you forgot to heed their warnings.

Unfortunately, a huge percentage of the population pours cooking grease down the drain, especially renters. Because too many people forget about the consequences of this practice, we receive a lot of calls about clogged kitchen sinks and often, cooking grease is behind the stubborn clog.

When we talk to people, they’ve usually heard somewhere that they shouldn’t do it, but they didn’t really know why. Or, they forgot the warnings, and continue to wash grease down the drain until it was too late. Unfortunately, when grease accumulates over time, it leads to costly, preventable repairs.

Thick Grease Leads to Clogging

Like animal fat, hydrogenated oils and butter, grease is a thick substance that accumulates in plumbing pipes. Like fat in our diet, excess grease in the plumbing leads to clogging. Eventually, so much grease will accumulate that it will lead to a complete blockage.

Obviously, we need our kitchen sinks to drain efficiently. It’s impossible to wash dishes or use the garbage disposal with a clogged kitchen sink! So, what types of grease are we talking about?

We’re talking about grease from animal fats, such as bacon grease and ground beef grease, as well as grease from vegetable oils. So, you don’t want to pour that bacon grease down the drain, nor do you want to dispose of the vegetable grease from the fried bell peppers and onions you cooked up for Sunday breakfast!

Grease Can Completely Block Pipes

When cooking grease mixes with hot water, it cools and then solidifies – this is when it becomes a problem. If a lot of greases has been poured down the drain for an extended period of time, it can completely block the pipes.

Sometimes, the blockage can be so bad, that it causes the toilets and sewage to back up as well, and this is not a good thing as it leads to further repairs. Thus, it’s important for everyone – homeowners and renters – to understand the importance of not pouring grease down the kitchen sink.

The best way to avoid clogs is to not pour kitchen grease down the drain. When you wash pots, pans, and plates with grease, wipe the grease off with a paper towel before rinsing them off with water in the sink.

Are you looking for a plumber in Cedar Park or Leander? Contact Excalibur Plumbing today!