No one would want it for raw sewage to spur out of their faucet. Yikes, even a thought of it runs chills down your spine, right? That is why drain cleaning companies tell people to discharge their grease in the trash can. Never pour oil down the drain.

For the time being, it might feel comfortable and convenient to get rid of the grease by draining it. But even a little spoon is counting. And then, little by little, it gets enough to block the whole city’s sewerage system.

The grease and oil that you pour down your dishwasher breaks into fatty acids and glycerol. These fatty acids then react with the calcium in the sewerage system and for “fatbergs,” leading to blocked sewerage lines. The consequences can be huge. Therefore, you must be careful. Here’s a brief answer to why you should never pour grease down the drain.

Pouring Grease Down The Sink Drain Is A Plumbing Sin

Sewerage clogs usually occur in populated areas or areas with more restaurants. That’s because those areas have more chances of grease drainage. Also, if you’re living in an old building or old house, you need to be extra careful, because it might be possible, people living there before you have had enough contribution towards the graining of grease.  And when you add an extra more, it keeps building until it clogs the whole system.

36,000 sewer overflows happen annually in the US, and 47% of these sewer overflows are due to grease and oil draining. These overflows are massive and can take weeks to clear. The same kind of fatberg clog happened in the UK in 2017. The fatberg was 210 ft. blocking the sewerage system. It was longer than the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s height, and it took almost 8 weeks to dissect the fatberg.

What Else You Should Do?

Now there comes a question that if draining grease is that troublesome, what should you do instead? Keep it? Obviously not. Only draining grease is problematic, and there are many other ways to get rid of it.

• If the grease amount is small, you can let it dry in the dish and, when hardened, throw the grease in the trash can. Also, clean the plate properly with a paper towel to remove as much grease as possible. Because of even little counts for your contribution.
• If the grease amount is big, such as in turkey frying, you should get that grease to the recycling and turn it into useful biofuel.

Oops! You’ve Clogged Your Sink Pipes. What Now?

Grease can not only clog the city sewerage, but it can also block your sink pipes because it starts from there. So, if even after being careful, you’ve stopped your sink pipes, there are quite a number of remedies to clear it.

• So, if it’s just a little, as in a case when you feel that the water is draining slowly, the pipe clog can be the reason. In that case, pour some boiling water down the drain with a little of your dishwashing soup. The water helps the solid grease to liquefy and pass, and the soap will remove the extra greasiness or any other debris.
• But if the water is not draining at all. Then you can use these very effective remedies to get help:
• Throw a handful of baking soda down the drain. It is an excellent cleaning agent and prevents foul-smelling as well. After that, follow it with highly boiling water.
• Pour a cup of vinegar into the sink. And it’ll help unclog the drain by removing the grease within 30 minutes. And then, follow it with hot boiling water.

Points To Ponder

Sometimes, a clog might be severe and complicated to get rid of, so you may need to call drain cleaning professionals up for your help.

Getting your sink clogged is irritating, disturbing and expensive at times. Therefore, you must be very careful before pouring the grease down your drain. Plus, the longer you ignore the clog, the more dangerous, health-risk, and more expensive the issue can become. So, it’s better to look out for the solution by getting the help of a rooter service before the whole sewerage system overflows. It will cost you money but less than the amount you may have to spend if you ignore the issue.