Clogged pipes rank among the most common plumbing calls we receive: when some material washed down the drain stops the flow of water. You should usually call in a plumber when that happens – store-bought solutions usually adopt only half-measures at best – but we believe that an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure any time.
To that end, we’re providing a list of food items you should throw into the garbage can rather than tossing them down the drain. It will save you a lot of consternation, as well as the cost of a plumbing service call:
- Fibrous vegetables. This includes things like carrot peelings and potato peelings, as well as celery and vegetables of a similar nature. They can easily get tangled up in your pipes and cause a clog. Peel your vegetables over the trash can instead, of stop up your sink and clean up the peelings before you open it again.
- Fats, oils and grease. The industry refers to these materials as FOG, and they can be extremely tricky to deal with. They’re often poured down the drain in liquid form, only to harden in the cool confines of the pipe and create a clog. Pour the hot liquids into an empty can, then throw the can in the trash after the FOG has cooled.
- Coffee grounds. Coffee grounds can expand when they get wet, as well as clogging the gears of your garbage disposal.
- Rice and pasta. Similarly, rice and pasta can become swollen with water in your pipes, as well as tangling together to form a clog.
- Be careful of fruit seeds that might get washed down your drain, particularly smaller ones, which are easy to miss. They can jam up your garbage disposal if they get caught.
You can call upon the Denver drain cleaning experts at Bell Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric to handle plumbing clogs of all varieties.
