Whether in the household or restaurant setting, it is always a reminder to never pour grease down the drain. Yes, it is hot and messy and all you want is to get rid of it right away. However, pouring it down your drain can cause serious issues. But how can grease cause you problems?
Grease Is Bad For Drains
You have to remember that once grease cools down, it automatically solidifies. It will flow out of your pan if you pour it down the drain, but once it’s down there, it becomes solid a couple of minutes later once it is in your pipes. Then, it will act as a greasy trap for debris. If you let this happen, it can clog the pipes over time and will slow down your drain. If it makes its way out of your pipes, it becomes a problem on the local sewer systems and septic tanks. There is a huge chance that it can clog the main sewer systems.
Tips To Dispose of Left over Cooking Grease
If you own a restaurant, one of the most important things that you need to consider is proper food waste management. Lard, duck fat, bacon grease, or basically any of that kind that can solidify at room temperatures should stay away from the drains. Other than that, even cooking oils should not be poured down the drain as well. So how can you dispose of them and avoid your drain?
- Cooking Oil. You should allow the grease to cool off before you start doing anything with it. If you have less than a cup of leftover cooking oil to dispose, pour it into the trash can on top of paper towels. But for restaurants where they have to deal with large amounts of leftover cooking oils, it is important to try to reuse it. If not, store them in plastic jugs to collect them and throw the entire container once it’s full.
- For your grease, you need to have a dedicated jar for disposal. While the grease is still hot, just pour it into your grease can or jar. Once the jar or can is filled up, scoop out the solidified grease into the trash bin. Or if you want, you can throw away the entire can.
In case you have already poured down grease down your frain, there are a couple of preventative measures that you can take to reduce damage and avoid clogging. You can try pouring a gallon of boiling water slowly while running the faucet on the hottest temperature. Drop some liquid soap down the drain while doing this. The hot water can help liquefy the solid grease while the soap can help flush it down the pipes. .
