Watch What You Throw Down the Kitchen Drain

Clogs are one of the biggest problems that plumbers need to deal with and clogs in your kitchen drain rank among the most common — and troublesome — most homes can address. When a clog appears, a good plumber is usually your best call, since store-bought solutions like cleansers rarely handle the job as effectively as they should. Having said that, the ideal solution to any clog is simply to prevent it from forming in the first place, and when it comes to your kitchen sink, that means watching what you pour down the drawn.

The wrong foodstuff can cause problems not only in the pipes themselves, but with the garbage disposal system too. If you can avoid throwing the following items down the drain, you can stop that trouble before it ever starts.

• Bones and seeds. Most people know not to toss meat bones and seeds such as peach pits down the drain. The garbage disposal won’t be able to break them down.
• Fibrous vegetables. This includes carrot peelings, potato peelings and celery stalks, which can get tangled together and create a nasty clog.
• Coffee grounds, which can expand when wet and create a bad clog, as well as getting caught in the gears of your garbage disposal.
• Rice and pasta can similarly expand when wet, and get tangled up in the pipes to create a clog.
• Fats, oils and grease, collectively known as FOG in the industry. These are especially insidious clogs because FOG often gets poured down the drain in hot liquid form. It cools inside the pipe and solidifies, to create the clog. Pour FOG in an empty receptacle like a can and wait for it to cool, then throw it in the garbage instead.

For reliable plumbing service throughout the Aurora, CO area, call on the friendly pros at Bell Plumbing and Heating today!