It’s easy to pour all kinds of liquids and even some solids into your sink without thinking twice. This especially holds true if you have a garbage disposal, as it’s so convenient to just scrape plates and pans into the drain, then flip the switch. However, although it may work some of the time, putting the wrong items down your drain could be doing major damage to your plumbing. Here are three items to never put down the drain or in your garbage disposal.
- Grease or oil. Any fatty substance will cause a problem in your plumbing. Grease and oil may go down easily when they are in liquid form, but they tend to cool and coat the inside of your pipes and garbage disposal. Over times, this gooey substance will collect debris and create a clog or jam up your disposal. Keep all grease, oil and other fatty materials out of the drain.
- Produce. While a soft banana or pea can easily be chopped up in a garbage disposal, their shells or peels cannot. Keep fruit and vegetable peels out of your disposal, along with any hard produce such as carrots or other root vegetables.
- Harsh cleaners. Any strong chemical can erode plumbing pipes, gaskets and other plumbing fixtures. Don’t put any harsh chemicals down your drains, including the chemical clog removers marketed as being designed for plumbing. These cleaners can do expensive harm to your plumbing on their own, plus can have chemical reactions with one another, causing more harm than good in the long run. For severely clogged drains and small problems alike, call in your local plumber to safely remove the clog and protect your plumbing.
Posted on behalf of Seagraves Plumbing Septic and Sewer
