Common Items That Cause Drain Blockage
When it comes to the garbage we accumulate, it can start smelling and being an annoyance. More often than not, we want to throw it away immediately. Oils, small garbage, food, we will try flush them down the drain, after all, it does make life easier for us right? Not having to worry about it and throw out the garbage outside at a later time. Well, you are partially correct, because the stuff you can throw makes life easier, for a short time, but once it accumulates, you kitchen drain blocks up. Then you have to spend more time cleaning the mess up.
Well, now with that cleared, the question becomes what exactly can’t we throw down the drain? There are many things that can or cannot go down the drain, and we will be discussing this in this article.
Coffee grounds
The first thing that people should avoid tossing away is the coffee grounds. Some people are confident that coffee grounds will not cause a problem being tossed down the drain. However, most plumbers disagree, they state that the cause of most blockages are by coffee grounds and grease.
Grease, fats and oils
These three slimy liquids can mix with other things tossed down the drain and cause clogs in household pipes. They can form fatbergs that can even block sewers. These sort of build ups caused about 47% percent of the sewer overflows that happen in the U.S. The sources can be fat melted from cooked bacon, sausage, meat, skin from poultry, and even gravy. Oils can include oil, olive oil, salad dressings, and condiments.
Eggshells
The granular waste that is eggshells is particularly bad since it can hook up and latch on to other wastes to form big clogs.
Flushable cat litter
This sort of garbage creates two problems. The first issue is that the cat poo harbors a terrible parasite, that can cause the disease toxoplasmosis. If not destroyed during water treatment, and then it can become a threat on marine species. The second and obvious problem is that it can cause blockages in the drain.
Produce Sticker
The small stickers you find on produce and fruits are surprisingly washed down the drain regularly. This may seem harmless but can create several problems. Flushed stickers that go down the drain can stick on the drain and pipes. This issue can persist and cause problems for wastewater treatment plant pumps and hoses. Plus, if they can get past all these filters, they can end up in water.
Flushable Wet Wipes
The New York Times in an article about New York City’s $18 million spent on fixing wet wipe-related equipment problems. The issue was that the wipes combine with other materials, like congealed grease, to create a sort of super knot. The wet wipes used aren’t able to break down like toilet paper, and they cause a lot of chaos for sewer systems and water treatment facilities.
There are more things that people should avoid tossing down the drain, but the most common ones are mentioned above. If you have any questions, or even comments about the article, please contact us!
