Plumbers Love When You Pour These 9 Household Items Down the Drain
A clogged kitchen sink can ruin your afternoon. When a costly visit from a professional plumber is necessary, it can also siphon significant money out of your pocket. Most blocked pipes are completely avoidable. It’s knowing what should and shouldn’t be thrown down the sink that will prevent your pipes from backing up.
The tricky part is that most of the culprits seem completely harmless — a little grease here, some dirt from a pot. factory here, but they quietly build up over time or harden inside your pipes, forming a logjam.
If your drain is already clogged, a plumber explained to us why a chemical drain cleaner may not be the best solution. If your drain is flowing freely, consider yourself lucky and do your best to keep it that way. Below, you’ll find nine things you should never send down the drain.
9 Household Items That Will Clog a Drain
1. Oil and grease
Bacon grease should not be poured down the sink, but it can be saved and used in your next recipe.
Oil and grease are two of the most common drain-clogging substances. Large amounts of cooking oil left in the pan or a pile of leftover bacon grease from breakfast are surefire ways to build up gunk in your kitchen pipes over time.
The oil should be thoroughly cooled and placed in a sealed container before discarding. Pork fat and bacon grease can flavor your next recipe or season a cast iron skillet.
Learn more: 8 Ways to Use Leftover Bacon Grease
2. Vegetable peels
Peelings from carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables can end up down the drain, but that’s about the worst place you can put them. This organic waste will cause backups and clogged pipes faster than you can say “compost pile.”
Speaking of which, a compost pile or organic waste processor This is precisely where these materials should go. Here is how to start a compost pile if you are new to the game.
3. Oil-based foods: salad dressing, mayonnaise, sauces and marinades
Avoid throwing large amounts of mayonnaise or salad dressing down the kitchen drain.
The same goes for fatty foods including salad dressings, mayonnaise, marinades, etc. A small mayonnaise stain may not be a problem, but throwing out an entire bottle of outdated balsamic vinaigrette or teriyaki marinade could cause problems.
Foods with a high oil content cannot be composted and should be thrown in the trash.
4. Coffee grounds
Coffee grounds can be composted but they should not go down the drain.
If you brew coffee every morning, throwing away the grounds is just part of the routine. Coffee grounds can be composted, but they should not be flushed down the drain. Over time, coffee grounds will build up in the pipes and cause a backup.
If you don’t have one, consider start a compost pile to keep food scraps out of the sink and trash cans. To use this useful tip to avoid that compost pile stench in your kitchen. Or, if composting isn’t in the cards, add a countertop food waste processor like the Lomi or Mill Bin.
5. Flour
Extra flour should be composted or thrown away.
If you’ve seen what happens to flour when it mixes with water, you know why it’s not a good idea to throw it down the drain. Imagine dense bread dough trying to force its way through your pipes. It’s not pretty.
If you have flour left over from a baking project or recipe, you should compost it or throw it away.
6. Dirt and earth
Fight the urge to throw excess potting soil down the kitchen drain.
I am certainly guilty of this one. The kitchen sink seems perfect for transferring a houseplant from one pot to another, but soil and other debris can easily clog your drain.
If you can do this without leaving more than a few granules in the sink, you’ll probably be fine. If it’s a lot of repotting, it would be wise to take the project outside.
7. Rice and pasta
Whether cooked or raw, rice has no place in your pipes. Compost it instead.
Unless you have a trash can, food scraps should not be flushed down the drain. Rice and small pastas are especially tricky because they can slip past your pipe guard and into pipes they shouldn’t be in.
To avoid a starch-based clog, throw leftover grains and pasta into the compost pile or the trash if you don’t compost.
8. Paper products
Paper products, no matter how thin, do not end up in the kitchen drain.
No paper product should be flushed down the drain, even if it is made from a thin compostable material. Some kitchen products, like plates, bowls and napkins, can be composted, but check them carefully before adding them to your kitchen pile or smart kitchen bin. Otherwise, they should be thrown away.
9. Paint
Oil paint is the worst thing you can pour down the kitchen sink. Try mixing it with cat litter until it dries before throwing it away.
I’ve been guilty of this too, but it’s time to break the habit. Because the paint is liquid, it may seem like a candidate for the kitchen sink, but that’s not the case. The paint sticks to the pipes; if it dries, it becomes a serious plumbing problem.
A great tip for getting rid of old paint: cat litter. Mix some litter with the old paint can until it hardens, then throw it in the trash. Check with your local sanitation department for certified disposal facilities for oil-based paints.
How to Unclog a Drain Using Household Items
Is there anything baking soda and vinegar can’t do?
If your drain becomes clogged, try a combination of vinegar, baking soda and boiling water. Many LifeProTips and Lifehacks Reddit threads report that this quick fix saves owners in the blink of an eye.
There are also chemical drain cleaners to help get things moving – although one plumber we spoke to explained why you should be careful with them. To prevent food and solids from entering the kitchen drain, a Sink strainer for $10 This will save you trouble later.
The most important thing is knowing which foods and household items to keep out of the kitchen sink to avoid a clogged pipe disaster.
FAQs
What is the best chemical cleaner I can use for a clogged drain?
For a complete list of our tested chemical drain cleaners, see our best list here.
Note: According to a plumber we spoke with, chemical pipe cleaners should be a last resort because they can cause pipes to corrode if used frequently. First try vinegar and baking soda (for light clogs) or a pipe snake.
Do baking soda and vinegar really unclog drains?
Yes, baking soda and vinegar can be an effective method for small clogs. However, this method is not recommended in cases of large blockages, as it can create excessive pressure and damage the plumbing.
