While many people know better than dispose of items such as condoms and sanitary pads in the drain, they still flush many other “innocent” things wrongly.
Do you pay attention to the items that slip down your drain? Well, you should— unless you’re missing your 24-hour plumber in Utah. Here are ten things you must keep out of the drain:
- Fats, Oils, and Grease – Avoid pouring waste grease, oil and fat into your kitchen drain. These waste oils cool down and solidify along the pipeline. They stick to the surface of the pipes and cause massive sewer maintenance problems.
- Eggshells – Scraps of eggshells create granular waste that can attach to fat, oil, and grease to clog up your sink.
- Coffee Grinds – Coffee grinds are notorious especially when they mix with grease and oils to form a sludgy, drain-clogging mess.
- Tea Leaves – While tea leaves can easily escape down the drain, a pile of them can build up in the pipes.
- Orange and Lemon Peels – Put even the tiniest pieces of lemon and orange pills in your compost bin. These pieces can accumulate and clog up your drains.
- Potato Peels – These peels get gummy and sticky in the pipes.
- Rice – These tiny grains can end up gumming up your pipes.
- Pet Poop – Even the smallest bits of pet litter can accumulate and clog your pipes. Think of other ways to get rid of it.
- Unused Medications – Never toss expired medications down the drain. Medications such as Metamucil can form a drain-clogging “hard jell-o.”
- Wet Wipes – Keep baby wipes and face wipes out of your bathroom drain regardless of their “flushable” labels.
The sewer system is designed for water, human waste, and tissue paper. Don’t flush or pour the wrong things down the drain. In addition, ask a plumber to clean out your drain at least twice a year. Remember, wrongly disposed items can return to haunt you one day. They can damage the sewer system, lead to messy sewer backups in your home, and even cause sewer releases to the environment.
