There are some things that you just shouldn’t put down the sink. Unfortunately we usually don’t realize what can cause a clogged drain until water begins to spill over and you need to call a plumber. It is easy to avoid clogged drains and polluting waterways by paying attention to these 8 things you should stop putting down your drain.
#1 Flour
For all you bakers, don’t wash your extra flour (or dough) down the sink. Before you wash the dishes, scrape the extra flour into the trash or else it could end up coating the pipes and drain.
#2 Eggshells
This is another item that would do more for your garden than for your drain pipes. The membrane of an eggshell can stick to the inside of your pipes and cause a bad clog, even if you have a garbage disposal! Instead toss them in a garden or compost, and if those aren’t an option even the trash works!
#3 Grease and Oil
Oil and grease are some of the worst things you can put down your drains. We aren’t just talking about cooking oils and bacon grease even things like old milk, ice cream and yogurt can cause problems. Washing grease and oil down the sink may make clean-up easy, but if it doesn’t get flushed all the way through it will congeal and lead to a clogged drain.
#4 Rice
It expands! Imagine what the inside of your pipes look like when rice is tossed down the drain. Be careful even when washing rice in the sink because those little grains multiply in size and cause clogs.
#5 Medications
Water pollution is a big reason medications are on this list. When medications are poured down the sink they dissolve and pollute the waterway. Unfortunately it isn’t a good idea to toss them in the trash either because they could end up in the wrong hands! You can check in with your pharmacy to see if they have a medication collection program or check the National Drug Take Back Day website.
#6 Paint
Paint also pollutes waterways and can clog drains. There are some better options out there for disposing paint safely. For small quantities of paint, let it dry and toss it in the trash, just be careful of the fumes. If you have a lot of paint that won’t dry out on its own, try contacting your local hazardous household waste collection center, they can point you in the right direction.
#7 “Flushable” Wipes
Just because the package says “flushable”, does not mean you should flush it! These wipes may not contain any chemicals that pollute water, but they can cause problems for your pipes. Sometimes flushable wipes don’t fully disintegrate which can be destructive to any plumbing system, especially older ones. To be safe, throw them in the trash.
#8 Acid
Altough Drano, lye and other popular drain cleaning products seem like a quick easy fix. They are in the best case scenario a temporary solution. While these products are working to dissolve the clog they are also eating away at your drain pipe. Even when these products do clear up the blockage it only opens up a small hole in the clog before flowing past and leaving 70% of the blockage behind. Mechanical cleaning with a snake is always the best solution for a clogged drain pipe, it cleans out the pipe 100% with virtually no wear and tear on your drain pipe.
We hope this helps you to avoid any clogged drains in your future, but if a problem should arise, give us a call! Contact us for speedy and trustworthy emergency drain services anytime, we are here 24 hours a day.