Connected Craftsman LLC
We've all been there: you're cleaning up after dinner, the sink is running, and it's just so tempting to rinse everything down the drain and let the plumbing deal with it.
At Connected Craftsman, we love combining modern smart home tech with reliable, old-school home maintenance. But no amount of high-tech home automation can save your pipes if you're treating your kitchen sink like a trash can. In fact, ignoring proper plumbing care is a quick way to turn a peaceful evening into an emergency service call.
While there is a long list of items that shouldn't go down the sink, two everyday kitchen culprits do the absolute most damage to your pipes and garbage disposal. Here are the two things you should never throw down the drain.
1. FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease)
It goes by the acronym FOG, and it is the absolute worst enemy of your plumbing system.
When you pour liquid bacon grease, warm cooking oil, or melted butter down the drain, it looks harmless because it's in liquid form. However, as soon as that grease hits the cold air and water inside your underground pipes, it cools down, solidifies, and coats the interior walls of your plumbing.
- The "Fatberg" Effect: Over time, this grease acts like glue, trapping food particles, wet wipes, and debris. It creates a thick, rock-hard blockage known as a "fatberg" that completely chokes off your drainage line.
- The Better Way: Let cooking grease cool and solidify in an empty tin can or jar, then scrape it directly into the trash. For oily pans, wipe them down with a paper towel before washing them in the sink.
2. Fibrous and Starchy Food Scraps (The Garbage Disposal Killers)
If you have a garbage disposal, it's easy to assume it can pulverize anything. But a disposal isn't a blender; it uses spinning impellers to push food against a grind ring. Certain textures completely defeat this mechanism.
- Stringy & Fibrous Foods: Celery, pumpkin guts, corn husks, and artichokes have long, tough fibers. These fibers act like hair wrapped around a vacuum brush — they twine around the disposal's moving parts, jamming the motor and burning it out.
- Starchy Foods: Pasta, rice, potato peels, and coffee grounds expand when they absorb water. Even if they make it past the disposal blades, they turn into a thick, gooey paste further down the line, completely sealing your pipes shut.
- The Better Way: Toss these scraps into your trash or compost bin. Your plumbing will thank you.
When the Damage is Already Done
Maintaining a smart, efficient home means keeping your foundational systems running smoothly. If a kitchen mishap has already left you with a clogged pipe or a jammed disposal, don't panic.
Connected Craftsman is your singular resource for both traditional repairs and digital home upgrades. Whether you need a quick fix or a complete garbage disposal replacement or faucet replacement, we've got the old-school reliability and expertise to get your kitchen back in working order.
Keep those drains clear, and let's keep your home running beautifully!