Kitchen Grease and Your Drains

Grease is liquid when hot and solid when cold. It clings to pipes and causes clogs.

Fats, oils and grease poured down a sink are liquid when hot but cool and harden inside pipes. Over time, they build up and trap food particles, forming clogs. In municipal sewers, grease contributes to large blockages that cause backups.

Let fat set in an old tin, then bin it. Blot pans with a paper towel first, and keep a basket strainer in the drain. Running hot water alone does not prevent buildup; the grease cools further down the line.

Kitchen drains that clog repeatedly may need professional cleaning or jetting to remove buildup from the pipe walls.

1. Pour cooled grease into a container
2. Blot greasy pans with paper towel first
3. Keep a basket strainer in the drain
4. Run hot water after use

• Paper towels
• Grease container

1. 01

   Pour grease into a container, not the sink

2. 02

   Wipe pans before washing

3. 03

   Use a strainer in the sink

4. 04

   Run hot water after washing

5. 05

   Clean the trap if the sink slows

Grease cools and hardens in the pipe under the basement ceiling.

Whitby Plumbing, from the job

• The sink keeps clogging
• The basement laundry backs up
• The disposal jams often

Ring the desk if the kitchen sink keeps clogging.

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