Common Causes of Household Drain Blockages
October 28, 2022There are certain things you should not wash down the kitchen sink. Waste such as glass, metal, plastic, and paper are not the types of items meant to go into a garbage disposal or any sink drain. However, here are three things you might not know that should not be washed down the sink.
Grease
Bacon grease, meat fat, and oil used for frying, or any other type of grease or oil, should never be poured down the sink. These substances may be fluid when hot, but as they cool, they harden. Over time, grease can build up in your pipes and cause them to become blocked. This can lead to bigger, more serious plumbing problems down the road.
Fruit Pits
A rule of thumb is that if you cannot cut something with the sharpest knife in your kitchen, your garbage disposal blades can’t either. Thus, pits of all sizes are not safe to dispose of down the sink. This includes the pits of cherries, grapes, avocados, nectarines, plums, peaches, and other fruit. Not only can these items not be ground by garbage disposal blades, but they can also get lodged between the blades, causing serious damage. This is also true for bones, seafood shells, and nut shells.
Skin From Potatoes
Due to the high starch content in potato skins, it is not recommended they be washed down the sink. The starch, when drying out, can turn into a thick paste that can cement the peels to the inside of the pipes. This paste can also cause disposal blades to stick.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds may not seem like a big deal, but they can cause many problems for your garbage disposal. They can get stuck in the blades and cause the unit to jam. Even if you don’t have a disposal, coffee grounds, in large amounts, are not safe to wash down the sink. They bulk up in clumps, and over time, this will cause a blockage in your pipes.
