Why You Should Never Pour Grease Down the Drain

It is fairly common knowledge these days that grease is bad for your health because it clogs the arteries and can lead to all kinds of issues. The same is true for your drain pipes.
Before you think about pouring bacon grease, or any other type of grease or oil for that matter, down your drain…STOP! Disposing of grease in this way may seem convenient, but it will lead to major problems, and major headaches, down the line.

Most everyone has done it at some point, and there are many who still think that running hot water or dish soap down the drain will prevent grease from sticking and clogging, but this is not entirely true. Oil poured into your drain may start out as a liquid, but it will start to solidify as it cools and makes its way through your pipes. When hot grease is cooled, it will stick to the surfaces of your pipes, leading to an inevitable buildup. If you dispose of grease or oil by pouring it down the drain, then you have a big problem building up in your pipes right now.

How Grease Causes Problems

One of the biggest problems with grease is that it is naturally sticky, and has a tendency to clump, even when hot. As it cools, the grease will form a solid glob that is resistant to breaking down. It may be liquid when you pour it into the drain, but it will become a solid quickly.
You’ve heard the phrase “oil and water don’t mix”. Grease does not easily wash away with water, so running the faucet to wash it down is just not an efficient way to get it out of your drain. Deposits stuck on grease will begin to attract other organic substances that are poured down the sink. In time, all this matter will accumulate causing an unsanitary, stinky backup in your drain.

The grease that does manage to get through your pipes is then sent out into the sewer system, where the problem will only get worse. All oil and grease from other households and restaurants in the area will combine, and begin to break down over time to form glycerol and fatty acids. Those fatty acids then bind to calcium to form a rock-like mass of waste matter in the sewer system, known as fatbergs. As the sewer level rises, the fatbergs attach to the sewer ceiling and continue to grow in size that will eventually clog the entire sewer system. A seaside town in Britain called Sidmouth found out just how damaging these fatbergs can be in 2019. A fatberg measuring 210 feet blocked the drain system and took their sewer team more than eight weeks to dissect it.

 Garbage Disposals and Grease

Another big misconception people have is that it is ok to pour grease and oil down the garbage disposal, thinking the blades will just chop up any matter inside. The truth is the exact opposite. Garbage disposal does not have a special built-in apparatus to destroy grease, and the blades aren’t going to help either. Instead, the blades will become coated with grease rendering them less effective. Over time, your disposal will start to drain slower or become blocked. It will also start to smell bad and require a good garbage disposal cleaner and deodorizer.

Correcting The Problem

The TruFusion WASHOUT Build-Up Remover eats away hair, grease, paper, organic matter, food, and soap scum with specially formulated dual-action biologicals and enzymes. It is:

• AGGRESSIVE ON PIPE BUILDUP – Perfect for drain care maintenance to break down years of sediment buildup.
• SEPTIC SAFE – Formula contains 100% non-pathogenic material making it a safe option for your household drains and septic systems.
• PREVENTS ODORS – Fresh scent to prevent foul odors.
• BIOLOGICALS + ENZYMES FORMULA – The premium blend eats away buildup due to hair, grease, paper, organic matter, food, and soap scum.
• MULTIPLE USES – The 64 oz. a bottle contains 4 treatments, perfect for proper drain care maintenance against years of buildup.

Use WASHOUT Build-Up Remover every month to maintain your plumbing and to prevent slow drains and buildup on drain pipe walls to decrease the frequency of slow-flowing drain problems. The product is safe for use in sinks, tubs, showers, and toilets. Do not use with hot or boiling water, bleach, disinfectants, ammonia, or any other drain chemical products as these may deactivate the product.