Holiday Help: What Not To Put Down Your Kitchen Drain

With the holidays, family visits and lots of cooking coming up we stop our “Hump Day Pump Day” theme we’ve been loosely following to look at some common problems our customers typically run into when it comes to clogged drains through the holidays. We’ll call it “Hump Day: The Holidays Edition”. Not only are clogged drains on a holiday inconvenient (and yes we come out on holidays to unclog drains for the unfortunate few!) but they can be damaging and frustrating. So without further delay, here are a few tips about kitchen drains during the holidays:

- Never put grease down a kitchen drain. Sure there are tricks/theories on how to get grease safely to the sewer or septic, but drain systems are stressed enough with the increased activity from visitors and extra cooking. Grease further stresses the system and is the number one cause of clogged kitchen drains for our customers during the holidays.

- Garbage disposals are for tiny particles of food stuck on plates after scraping them off into the trash. Just because the disposal chops it up doesn’t mean a drain is meant to handle all food. Heavier, denser foods sink in water and are outrun by water, causing them to sit on the bottom of the drain and catch other solid waste until the drain clogs. Large amounts of food also stress disposal motors and breaks them, so scrape it off!

- If you notice a drain running slow, don’t use store bought chemicals. Cleaners such as Drain-O and Liquid Plumber don’t always work on a clogged drain and our plumber’s still have to come out. Unfortunately those chemicals eat through our cables and cause them to snap so our techs will have to clean out the chemicals before we can clean the drain. Instead, if you notice a slow drain, pour vinegar or baking soda into the drain followed by a large pot of boiling water.