The Dangers of Pouring Grease Down Your Kitchen Sink Drain

Licking your fingers after a delicious meal of fried food, you turn toward this large remainder of used up grease and oil. Too tired to get rid of it, you think about just letting it go down the drain. Wait, not so fast!

You’re about to cause serious damage not only to your drainage supply, but the entire neighborhood’s as well. Think this is an exaggeration? Grease is the cause of approximately 47 percent of blocked sewage overflows in the U.S. each year.

The time you might be saving by unloading oil and grease into your drain rather than a bag in the trash, could cost you extra trying to get your drains cleaned and repaired. Here are a few reasons why you should never throw grease down the drain:

Clogged Drain

Now you’re wondering, how can hot grease clog drains? Wouldn’t it just pass down? If anything, it could just clear up anything that’s previously blocking the way for it to just go out. That’s where you’d be wrong.

Cooking oil and grease solidifies rapidly. What goes down as a liquid, can emulsify very quickly into a globule very fast. It looks like a big chunk of soap, and the issue is so common, it even has its own name — fatberg.

Reverse Sewer Flow

Too many fatbergs can potentially clog up your drain to the extent that the flow of water can’t be controlled. As the lines are mostly blocked, water can’t make its way as it is supposed to go down. Rather than letting water from your house to the sewerage system, you can end up causing water from the sewage to backflow into your basins and sinks. The Empire Strikes Back, and not in a pleasant way indeed.

Threat to Water Treatment Process

The usual suspects in making the job difficult for your local water treatment company is because of fatbergs. When these people get to work, they expect to deal with other substances and treat the water for it, fatbergs can be a pain to filter out.

This can lead to a lessened water supply or a potentially harmful one.

If you’ve thrown grease down a few too many times in the past, or just want your drains to be cleared out, get in touch with the plumbing repair service pros at Pro Serve Plumbing. A family-owned business based in Fort Worth, TX, our 15 years of experience has garnered us respect in the community. Our plumbers are capable of solving all your plumbing problems.