Cooking Grease and Fats That Turn Your Pipes Into Cement
Your kitchen sink might seem like the obvious place to rinse that leftover bacon grease, but grease (along with fats and oils) are substances that cause kitchen plumbing issues. As these are binding agents once they cool down, they will rapidly clog pipes and drains. When you pour hot grease down the drain, it feels harmless because it’s liquid at the time.
But here’s what happens next – it may be tempting to immediately rinse your pan after frying steak, sausages, or bacon. However, similar to cooking fat, this fat tends to solidify as it moves down the drain and will eventually clog your pipes. Think of it like pouring melted wax down your pipes. Put these in jars or cans to cool before disposing of them in the trash.
Coffee Grounds That Create Pipe-Clogging Mountains
Coffee grounds build up in your pipes and cause blockages. Plumbers say they are the most common cause of drain problems. This might surprise you because the grounds seem so small and harmless. However, coffee grounds are harsh on pipes and do not get properly ground by garbage disposals.
The problem isn’t just one cup of coffee grounds going down – it’s the accumulation over time. Rather than pouring the leftover coffee grounds from your reusable K cup down the drain, scoop them out and dispose of them elsewhere. Even if there aren’t many grounds left, repeatedly pouring them down the sink can lead to a buildup over time. You should always dispose of coffee grounds in your trashcan or use them for composting.
Starchy Foods That Expand Into Drain-Blocking Monsters
We’re talking about the rice, pasta, and oatmeal of the world. Most starchy or grainy solids that puff up will cause blockages if they are poured down your drain. These seemingly innocent food scraps have a dark secret – they love water and grow when they meet it.
Pasta and rice in particular are things you should never dispose of down a kitchen drain. They absorb liquid and begin to swell in your drains, forming a sticky matter that blocks your drainage system. Imagine tiny sponges expanding in your pipes until water can’t flow through. Scoop any strays from rinsing rice or draining pasta out of your sink and into the bin. As always, scrape any leftovers into the bin after eating.
Flour That Becomes Homemade Glue
If you are an avid baker, you are probably aware of how flour becomes sticky when mixed with water. But, poring flour down your drain will result in the build-up of clumps that will eventually clog your drain. Think about making bread dough – that’s exactly what happens inside your pipes when flour meets water.
Also, bad news for your kitchen sink, and likely to clog pipes with ease, is disposing of excess flour down the drain. Like many other food scraps, people tend to scrape excess flour down the hole where it forms a sticky matter and results in an unwanted blockage. Also, ensure you wipe off all the flour from the kitchen utensils before putting them inside the sink. The solution is surprisingly simple – just wipe everything clean with a paper towel first.
Paint and Hazardous Chemicals That Poison Your Pipes
Paint can immediately cause serious drainage issues – and subsequent health risks. There are reasons why there are hazardous waste labels on most paints, so avoid rinsing them down your drain. Paint isn’t just a plumbing problem – it’s an environmental disaster waiting to happen.
Paint is a highly flammable substance with toxic fumes that will linger on your pipes. Running water down a pipe with paint will release the chemicals found in paint, eventually affecting marine life. Some areas are pretty strict with the disposal of hazardous substances in drains that it is illegal to dump water used to rinse water-based paintbrushes. Paint should never be washed down your sink. Whether oil- or water-based, paint contains many toxins and chemicals that should not end up in our water supply.
Makeup and Beauty Products That Create Sticky Bathroom Nightmares
The answer to the abovementioned question is a big yes, and makeup does clog drains. Throwing off makeup from the skin to the sink makes drainage pipes blocked and full of germs. Most people don’t realize that their daily beauty routine could be slowly destroying their plumbing.
Even if your makeup isn’t labeled as “waterproof,” beauty companies make their products to withstand at least some sweat so you can stay looking your best all day. Unfortunately, that means most makeup has at least a bit of that “waterproof” (hydrophobic) quality. That means the products repel water, rather than dissolve into it. If this makeup gets washed down your drains, it can sometimes stick to the insides of your pipes and refuse to properly dissolve and wash away. Try removing as much makeup as you can with makeup wipes or cotton makeup pads first.
Clay Face Masks That Harden Into Pipe Sculptures
If you use clay face masks, you’re familiar with how they harden on your skin. Unfortunately, they can do the same thing in your pipes when you rinse them off. Bits of clay can stick to the sides of your pipes and harden there, narrowing the space in your pipe and increasing the odds of a future clog.
Imagine tiny pieces of pottery forming inside your pipes – that’s essentially what happens when clay masks go down the drain. Mulder says to place a mesh cloth ($7) over the drain when washing off clay masks to prevent the full mask from being washed down the drain. Throw any big chunks of mask that the clothe catches in the trash before rinsing the cloth. This simple prevention step can save you hundreds in plumbing repairs later.
Cat Litter That Transforms Into Concrete
Cat litter is made up of bentonite clay, which has the tendency to harden when wet, creating a thick, almost cement-like quality. Cat litter that ends up down the drain can expand from the moisture in the pipes and then harden, blocking any wastewater. Even products labeled as “flushable” shouldn’t fool you.
Even “flushable” kitty litter can clog your pipes. Additionally, parasites like Toxoplasmosis found in cat waste can harm marine life. Dispose of kitty litter in the trash. Kitty litter is a nightmare for your drains. Litter absorbs water and clumps, forming a serious blockage in the pipe. And don’t let the packaging mislead you: even so-called flushable kitty litter isn’t great for your plumbing system, especially if you have a septic tank because it’s non-biodegradable.
Hair and Personal Care Products That Build Soap Scum Castles
Hair, and Dental Floss These materials can clog pipes and are difficult to remove from the sewer system. While one hair doesn’t seem problematic, thousands of hairs combining with soap residue create formidable blockages. Shampoos, conditioners, and styling products are some of the most common products that can clog drains. They can leave residue in your drains and build up over time.
A cream foundation, shaving cream, soap, toothpaste, hair gels, and shampoo each has a mixture of ingredients that can include oil based products. Over time, mixture resulting from rinsing makeup down the sink combined with strains of hair from brushing, beard and mustache clippings, toothpaste residue, hair gel rinsed from your hands, and soap, combine into a sticky mass. Installing a simple drain strainer can catch most of this debris before it becomes a problem.
Flushable Wipes That Are Anything But Flushable
Flushable wipes, moisty naps, sanitary wipes, baby wipes, and the like, do not break down in the sewer. If they do disintegrate, the process is very slow. If they do disintegrate, the process is very slow. Meanwhile, they’re catching things and getting hung up on 45-degree bends in the line.
The marketing term “flushable” has created one of the biggest plumbing myths of our time. Products claiming to be “flushable” such as certain brands of cat litter and wipes still create a high risk of clogged drains. Even if flushable wipes manage to slip through your drain line without incident, the disgusting little rags wreak havoc at the municipal water treatment plant. Both cosmetic and cleansing wipes can sometimes be labeled as flushable, however, none of these wipes actually belong in the toilet, as these wipes don’t match the consistency of toilet paper, and are too thick to be flushed.