Your kitchen drain might seem like a catch-all for anything liquid or soft enough to wash away, but some common household items can silently wreak havoc on your plumbing system. To keep things flowing smoothly, it’s important to know what doesn’t belong down your sink or garbage disposal.
1. Coffee Grounds
While they might look harmless, coffee grounds clump together in pipes and create stubborn blockages. Over time, they mix with grease and soap scum, turning into a sludgy mess that’s tough to clear out.
2. Grease, Oils, and Fats
Grease might slide down as a liquid, but it cools and hardens inside your pipes. This buildup can narrow your drain and lead to slow drainage or total blockages that require professional drain cleaning help to fix.
3. Eggshells
Many people assume eggshells are safe for garbage disposals, but the thin membrane inside them can tangle in the blades. When combined with other food particles, they form a gritty paste that sticks to your pipes.
4. Pasta and Rice
Both pasta and rice swell with water, even after cooking. If they make their way into your drain, they can expand further, catch other debris, and form a gooey blockage deep in your plumbing.
5. Medication
Flushing old pills or liquid medication down the sink doesn’t damage your pipes, but it does harm the water supply. Pharmaceuticals aren’t always filtered out at treatment plants and can end up in local waterways.
6. Paint and Cleaning Chemicals
Leftover paint, solvents, or chemical cleaners can corrode your pipes and pollute groundwater. Even small amounts can cause issues, and they should always be taken to a hazardous waste facility instead.
7. Flour
Flour might seem like a strange one, but when mixed with water, it turns into a sticky paste. That paste coats the inside of your pipes and traps other materials, creating a dense clog that’s hard to remove.
Protect Your Plumbing with Help from Able Plumbing Solutions, LLC
Keeping these items out of your drains can save you from costly plumbing repairs and serious damage down the line. At Able Plumbing Solutions, LLC, we offer expert drain cleaning and plumbing services throughout Gilbert, AZ. If your sink is slowing down or backing up, give us a call today to schedule service and keep your system running clear.
