Your home’s kitchen disposal system is a convenience but it can also very easily become a nuisance. It is installed for the purpose of grinding up food leftovers and helping liquid, soluble waste go down the drain. What many of us do not realize is that it does something else too: it tempts you to put as much as you can into the sink rather than scraping it into the trash. Even the most high-end disposal system should not be used as a literal “garbage” disposal. When you dump anything and everything into your sink, you are inviting serious plumbing issues. Not to mention, all the grease, fat and solid food debris you send to your local sewer line will affect the ecosystem.
5 Items Your Plumber in Oakville Warns About Putting Down the Drain
Some of these may seem like common sense, while others might surprise you. By taking care of the plumbing in your Oakville home, and treating it knowledgeably, you will have fewer plumbing issues plaguing your household (and wallet) in the future.
A few items to discard in the trash versus your kitchen sink include:
Coffee Grounds: Coffee grounds cause blockages and do not belong in the sink. Instead, dump them into your trash or better yet, find a way to reuse them; such as adding them to your garden’s compost pile.
Eggshells: Eggshells, despite the myths, do not help sharpen the blades of your garbage disposal. What they do instead is leave granular waste that helps form clogs inside your sewer lines.
Grease, Fats, and Oils: They may be in a liquid state, but grease, oils, and fats are what generate fatty blockages in sewer lines. They are also the primary cause for sewer overflows and plumbing repairs.
Meats: Raw meat, meat with gristle, and cooked meats belong in the trash. When ground by your disposal, meat becomes stringy and wraps up in the blades. Worse, the grease that pours off those meat particles helps create blockages.
Starchy Products: Starches include bread, potatoes (and potato skins), flour, pasta, and rice. Whether cooked or uncooked, the starch in these products allows them to become slimy once they encounter water. As they swell, they form blockages with other food and particles going down the drain.
Regardless of how much water you run after putting these products in the sink, and no matter how long you run the disposal unit, these items will cause a clog.
How to Solve Plumbing Issues After Flushed Items Down the Kitchen Sink
Wondering when to call a plumber for issues caused by items you have sent down the drain? If you do not have a clog right now, you could be okay. However, remember henceforth that if it is food of any sort, put it in the trash. Scraping plates into the garbage takes only a few seconds, and it could save you several hundred dollars that a sewer line repair could cost. If your drain is already clogged or you are noticing slow drainage, contact Pitton Plumbing & Heating Services in Oakville today. Our team can perform a drain and sewer line inspection and remove the clogs before they become a serious issue. Contact Pitton Plumbing today for clogs or other drainage concerns. Call us at 1-800-499-4184 or contact us online to inquire about our residential and commercial services.