Every home system has small enemies that can wreak havoc on the system. For your heating and cooling systems, it’s dust and dirt; for your kitchen plumbing system, it’s FOG: fats, oil and grease. Keeping these small enemies at bay isn’t difficult, but it does take diligence.
When it comes to your plumbing, staying ahead of FOG can significantly reduce the amount of clogs you experience and keep your kitchen plumbing in Scottsdale, AZ healthy. So what happens when oil, grease and/or fat heads down your drain? Let’s take a look.
FOG: Sticky Stuff
The main problem with FOG materials is that they cling very stubbornly to the inside of your piping. You may think that adding hot water to your piping would remove this; unfortunately, this is not the case. When you run hot water into your piping, it temporarily liquefies the FOG materials; once the water cools, the FOG solidifies again, and does so even further down your pipes. Many people also think that garbage disposals can get rid of FOG; again, this is not true. All a garbage disposal does to FOG materials is make them smaller. As more and more FOG heads down your pipes, the bigger the FOG build-up becomes. Eventually the FOG can restrict your water flow, creating slow drains, and can also cause a clog to develop. The best way to avoid problems with FOG is to make sure they don’t go down your drain.
Ways to Avoid FOG in Your Drains
Here are some suggestions on how to avoid problems in your plumbing from FOG:
- Scraping – make sure all dinnerware and cookware is thoroughly scraped of food, dressings and condiments before rinsing them off in your sink.
- Use a strainer – place a strainer in your sink (if it doesn’t already have one) and empty it after use.
- Don’t ever pour cooking grease down your drain – all cooking grease should be disposed of properly. Wait until the grease is room temperature, then drain all grease into an empty can or jar and throw away immediately.
- Don’t wash mayonnaise or salad dressings down your drain – scrape all containers containing these kinds of condiments, and if needed, wipe them with a paper towel before rinsing them to reduce the amount of fat and oil that can enter your drain.
*The Trusted Plumber. “Beware of FOG: Fats, Oils, and Grease vs. Your Kitchen’s Plumbing.” The Trusted Plumber Blog. Weblog post. 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.