While it’s tempting to simply rinse leftovers off into the kitchen sink, don’t do it unless you enjoy dirty drains, clogs and septic damage. Here are some tips from your trusted drain cleaning service in Prior Lake, MN about things you should not put down your garbage disposal.
Grease and solid oils
Animal fats and cooking oils like coconut oil are in a liquid state when hot and solid when cold. So there’s a chance that that hot grease you just dumped down your drain will not completely go all the way down. Instead, it is likely to end up solidifying and building up along pipe walls. Grease is not good for the cleanliness of your kitchen drain, or for your septic system.
The right way to dispose of cooking grease is to either pour it into a heat resistant container and wait for it to cool to a solid state, or scrape it into the kitchen garbage can for easy disposal. Another way is to pour it hot into a food container you’re throwing away anyway, while waiting for it to cool before tossing the entire thing.
Bones
Although chicken and fish bones are small, resist rinsing them off your plate into the garbage disposal. Bones are hard; if not washed away from the grinder’s reach, they can damage disposal blades, which may lead to destroying your garbage disposal motor. Another scenario involves pieces of bones damming up pipes as other food waste collects around them. Your septic tank can also find itself in trouble. Between chicken bones and similar food waste, a septic tank can run into issues trying to break it all down. Soon, you might need to get your tank pumped.
Coffee grounds
If you have a single cup coffee machine, then it’s easy enough to throw away the used container. But coffee pots require measured, ground coffee to be placed in a basket, meaning you either use a reusable filter or disposable ones. It may seem okay to empty the used grounds into the sink, yet this is far from harmless. Yes, most of the grounds will make it to the tank, but some will build up to later act like a muddy pit mixed with other food debris, or even clog and prevent the garbage disposal trap from working properly.
Veggie remains, rice and pasta
Especially in regards to fibrous vegetables, don’t send veggie remains through your garbage disposal—put them in the trash can. Peels, leaves and roots from high fiber vegetables are stringy, which can wrap around blades and create a tangled mess you will have to deal with. Pasta and rice are other foods that should not meet the garbage disposal or drain. These foods are starchy, meaning they will absorb water and expand in it, thus possibly resulting in a major clog.
If you need a professional drain cleaning service in Prior Lake, MN to come out and give your drains a fresh start, don’t hesitate to contact us at Mike’s Septic & McKinley Sewer Services.