What Not to Put Down Your Kitchen Sink During the Holidays
Between preparing holiday meals, hosting family, and cleaning up after dinner, your kitchen drains will be working overtime this time of year. With all the extra cooking and dishes, it’s easy for food scraps and grease to make their way down the sink. But some common kitchen leftovers can lead to clogged pipes, unpleasant odors, and garbage disposal problems.
Before you start cleaning up after your next holiday meal, here are six things you should keep out of your kitchen sink.
Grease is one of the biggest causes of kitchen drain clogs. It may go down the drain as a liquid, but once it cools, it can harden and stick to the inside of your pipes.
Over time, grease builds up and catches other food particles, making it harder for water to flow through your plumbing.
What to do instead: Let cooking grease cool, pour it into a disposable container, and throw it away once it has solidified. Avoid rinsing greasy pans directly into the sink.
Coffee grounds may seem harmless, especially when rinsed down with plenty of water. However, they don’t break down easily and can collect inside your pipes.
When combined with grease and other food waste, coffee grounds can contribute to stubborn drain clogs.
What to do instead: Toss used coffee grounds into the trash or compost them.
Eggshells are another common kitchen leftover that should stay out of your garbage disposal. Their small pieces can collect in pipes and contribute to blockages, especially when mixed with other food waste.
What to do instead: Throw eggshells in the trash or compost bin rather than putting them down the drain.
Pasta and rice absorb water and expand, even after they’ve been cooked. As they move through your plumbing, they can stick together and contribute to clogs.
Bread can also become a problem when it mixes with water and forms a thick, sticky buildup.
What to do instead: Scrape leftover pasta, rice, and bread into the trash before rinsing your dishes.
Foods like celery, corn husks, asparagus, and potato peels can cause problems for your garbage disposal.
Their stringy fibers can wrap around the disposal’s moving parts and interfere with the motor. Potato peels can also create a thick, paste-like buildup when ground up.
What to do instead: Dispose of vegetable scraps in the trash or compost bin.
Your garbage disposal isn’t designed to handle every type of food waste. Large bones, fruit pits, and other hard food scraps can damage the disposal or cause it to jam.
What to do instead: Scrape plates into the trash before rinsing them in the sink.
How to Keep Your Kitchen Sink From Clogging During the Holidays
A few simple habits can help prevent plumbing problems when your kitchen is getting extra use:
What If Your Kitchen Sink Is Already Clogged?
If water is draining slowly, your sink is backing up, or you notice unpleasant odors coming from the drain, there may already be a buildup inside your pipes.
Avoid using chemical drain cleaners, which can damage certain plumbing materials and create additional hazards. If a plunger or basic sink cleaning doesn’t resolve the problem, it may be time to have a professional take a look.
Keep Your Kitchen Running Smoothly This Holiday Season
The last thing you want during a holiday gathering is a clogged kitchen sink or a garbage disposal that stops working. Being mindful of what goes down your drain can help prevent plumbing problems and make cleanup a little easier.
If you’re dealing with a stubborn clog, slow drain, or garbage disposal issue, Dailey Company is here to help. We provide residential plumbing services throughout Bryan-College Station, Houston, Austin, and surrounding Texas communities.
Contact Dailey Company to schedule plumbing service today!