Why is Grease So Bad For My Pipes?

 

The smell of bacon is enough to make most people drool, and the bacon grease might be doing the opposite to your plumbing system. You’ve been told to not dump oil and grease down your drains, but a little bit won’t hurt, right? Well, unfortunately, it does hurt and can cause some pretty catastrophic results.

How the Damage is Created

Once the bacon grease and other oils leave your plumbing system they meet up with other chemicals that can build up and block the pipes taking the dirty water to treatment plants.

But that’s not the only problem. Grease and oil tend to harden once they cool and if you’ve ever left bacon grease in the pan for a few hours, you’ll realize what it can potentially do to your drains.

The Build-up

This substantial buildup can come from a small amount of grease and lead to major blockages in your plumbing. These blockages are responsible for 47 percent of the 36,000 severe overflows and basement floods that happen annually in the U.S.

Drain Cleaners

Now that you’ve got a backup, it’s perfectly fine to pour a chemical cleaner down the drain, right? Not so fast! You’ll want to avoid chemical cleaners at all costs.

“So can I use a homemade drain cleaning solution?”

Sure, they can be effective, but only to a certain extent. They likely won’t completely rid your pipes of the grease and oils that have stuck to the insides of the pipes.

Alternative Methods

You can save yourself a lot of grief by not dumping any oil and grease down the drain and taking the leftovers to a fat and oil recycling plant. These places use the fats and oils to create biofuels.

It’s best to let your cooking remnants solidify and then dump them into a trash can. Even after doing your best to get rid of the fat and oils by dumping them into a trash can, be sure to wipe down the pan with a paper towel to eliminate the risk of small amounts going down your drain.

If you are experiencing possible drainage problems, consult a plumber or drain cleaning professional as soon as possible. We’ll be able to offer the safest and most effective way to clean out your plumbing system, and perform a pipe repair if needed.