This is the worst thing you can pour down the drain
When we cook, grease often builds up from the fats and oils in the ingredients we heat. This happens when we cook with oil, butter or fatty foods such as ground beef or bacon. The fat at the bottom of the pan may make you wonder what to do with it.
If you’ve been thinking about throwing it down the sink, says Joe Mouawad, general manager of… Eastern Municipal Water Districtstrongly advises you not to do so.
“Fats, oils and grease (FOG) are incredibly harmful to our wastewater collection system,” he says. “When FOG is poured down your drain, it quickly hardens and causes clogs in the system.”
This type of clog can wreak havoc on your pipes, and it is very common. According to New York City’s 2019 State of the Sewers Reportit was determined that 66% of sewer blockages were caused by grease.
When grease from multiple pipes builds up, it can also cause problems with the British sewage treatment plant Thames water called ‘fatbergs’. Think of icebergs, but instead of being made of ice, a fatberg is grease, grease, and waste (often wipes) that get stuck in sewer drains after being drained through pipes. In 2017, Thames Water shared a video of a 250-metre, 130-ton fatberg in a sewage system, which took weeks and millions of dollars to remove, because reported by the BBC.
Due to the multitude of problems that built-up grease can cause, experts warn against ever letting any amount of grease go down the drain. Here you will find everything you need to know about safely disposing of cooking grease.
Why is it so harmful to pour cooking fat down the drain?
Although grease can flow down the drain in liquid form, the problems occur once it cools and hardens, which will cause clogs in your home’s sewer pipes and even “the main pipes under the street,” says Mouawad.
These specific types of clogs are “very difficult to clear and block the flow of wastewater through the system,” Mouawad adds. “If the wastewater can no longer flow through the system, it can back up, sometimes resulting in an expensive repair in your home.”
Once the grease in your pipes has hardened, it can also form a ‘sludge’ that continues to grow as more liquids and food particles enter the drain.
“An FOG blockage can lead to a sewage problem not only in your home, but also outside of it, where it can contaminate water,” says Mouawad.
How to Dispose of Cooking Grease
Because cooking fat hardens as it cools, you can pour the fat into a disposable container such as a can, jar, or take-out container and wait for it to harden, then throw it in the trash. And no, cooking fat, lard and excess oil cannot be composted.
Alternatively, you can strain any food particles from the fat and store in the refrigerator for future use while cooking.
Read more: How to Use Leftover Bacon Grease Like a Pro
There are plenty of ways to reuse your bacon fat, from seasoning your cast iron skillet to seasoning your burgers.
What should you do if you accidentally pour grease down your drain?
If you accidentally pour grease down your drain, Mouawad says, you should “take immediate action.”
“Flush the drain with very hot water mixed with a generous amount degreasing dishwashing liquid to prevent it from hardening,” he says.
But he doesn’t recommend using drain cleaning products like Drano.
“We do not recommend disposing of any chemical down the drain,” he says. “It can damage your pipes and compromise the health of our sewers.”
However, keep in mind that using boiling water and degreasing dish soap is not a permanent solution.
“If you continue to pour FOG down the drain, no amount of degreasing will save your pipes,” says Mouawad. “Eventually you will be forced to call in a professional to see how much damage has been done. This can be a costly problem and one that affects other systems in your home.”
