We have all been there. You’re in a rush and your kitchen feels too busy, crowded and chaotic. You want to clear up your workspace in a hurry, so you start gathering dishes and waste and rushing towards your sink. Then you hear it, the slow draining gurgling and your heart sinks.
Kitchen sinks are one of the most common and annoying household plumbing issues people face. The good news is most of these nuisances are preventable. After understanding some prevention tips from your friends at The Sweet Plumbers, you can be proactive and call us less (unless you miss us and then totally follow us on social media: The Sweet Plumber Facebook)
4 Tips to Keep Your Drains Happy
The best way to avoid a huge plumbing bill is by being proactive. Implementing these simple habits will dramatically reduce your risk of a clog:
1. Scrape, Collect, and Trash
Scrape: Always scrape food scraps from plates and pans directly into the trash or compost bin before rinsing them in the sink. Grease, oil and fat are the top three causes of clogs in your kitchen sink.
Bonus Tip: Give your dishes a quick wipe with a paper towel to remove excess grease before washing.
Collect: Never put grease down the drain! Oils and fats like bacon grease (mmmm bacon) can't go down the sink. Even though it looks like a liquid when it goes down the sink, it cools and solidifies into a bacon wax substance (mmm wax bacon) and then proceeds to clog your drains. The more you do this over time (and who doesn’t want bacon all the time) it narrows the passage in your pipes and catches other debris which then forms a stubborn clog.
So what do you do with it? Let bacon grease cool slightly for a few minutes but not until it completely solidifies, strain the grease through a fine mesh strainer or coffee filter in a funnel or cheesecloth, put strained collected grease into a clean, heatproof container. Place the container in the fridge to prolong its freshness. You can use this as a tasty (again, mmmm bacon) way to fry future breakfast goodness and save your kitchen sink (but maybe not your arteries).
Trash: Trash when you can. Yes, garbage disposals can handle a moderate amount of organic waste. However, some items should never venture near your kitchen sink and instead need to be trashed or composted. Starchy and expanding foods like rice, pasta, and potato peelings are huge culprits. They swell when exposed to water and double their volume in your plumbing. Veggies and potato peels turn into a thick paste that clog your pipes and dull your disposal blades.
The same idea is present for non organic waste like “flushable wipes” (LIES!) and paper towels. Do not put Clorox or any other wipes you used on your kitchen counter down the sink. You may think this is obvious, but if we are telling you, it’s because your friends at American Rooter Plumbing have seen it all!
2. Manage the Garbage Disposal
Speaking of disposals, like I said, we’ve seen it all at The Sweet Plumber.
The Rule: Use the disposal sparingly and correctly. Always run cold water while the disposal is on and for 20-30 seconds after it's turned off to flush the waste completely.
Foods to Avoid: Keep coffee grounds, eggshells, fibrous vegetables (like celery), and large amounts of starchy foods out of the disposal. The stuff we mentioned above is also a no go. Scrape, collect or trash this stuff thoroughly first. If it’s organic material, consider composting as well.
3. Regular Maintenance Flush
The Rule: Give your drain a regular natural clean.
The Method: Once a month, pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by 1 cup of white vinegar. Let it sit for about 15-30 minutes (you'll hear fizzing!), then flush it thoroughly with a pot of very hot (but not boiling) water. This helps break down minor buildup.
4. Use a Sink Strainer
The Rule: Place a fine-mesh strainer over the drain opening to catch stray food particles.
The Habit: Empty the strainer into the trash after washing dishes.
Bonus Tip: Call in the Pros
If the prevention tips above weren’t enough to prevent a clog, more significant factors could be at play. Age of the pipes, materials used, strain on the pipes. We would be happy to help you solve any additional complex problems. If we can get to the issue early, we can help solve costly problems for you.
Give us a call at (402) 298-5414 and check out our website and socials! We even have a current $93 dollar drain clean special promotion right now to get you all set for the Thanksgiving drain chaos!