What Not To Put Down Your Drain

Flushing items down the drain seems like an easy enough way to get rid of your liquid and solid waste, but often this can be damaging to your pipes and the environment. The only safe things to send down your pipes are human waste, toilet paper and water. In this post, we’ll give you some examples of things that people commonly flush down the drain but shouldn’t.

What Not To Put in The Garbage Disposal

Yes, garbage disposals are designed to chop food products into small pieces to be sent down the drain. However, not all food products are safe to be put in the disposal. For example:

• Fats and oils. Fats and oils maybe soft and liquidy when they’re warm, but when they cool off they can congeal and clog the plumbing. This includes margarine, butter, grease and broths that contain a great deal of oil.
• Egg shells. Egg shells are hard on your garbage disposal blades. When chopped into small pieces, egg shells can make problems by getting caught up with other pieces of food to form a clog.
• Coffee grounds. It’s a common belief that coffee grounds are good for plumbing, but we find that coffee grounds combined with grease can create terrible blockages.
• Flour. Flour combined with water makes a gluey substance that lines the inside of your pipes. When combined with other foods, flour can cause significant clogs.

What Not To Flush Down The Toilet

There are a number of flushable products on the market that should never be flushed down the drain at all. They might make it through your pipes into the sewer, but many of these products cause sewer backups because they’re absorbent, expandable and they biodegrade slowly.

• Tampons. Tampons are tough, built to last and they’re exactly the shape of a narrow pipe, which makes them the perfect item for causing a clog.
• Wipes. Wipes are taking over the New York sewer system and they can take over your sewer system as well! Never flush this product down your toilet!
• Kitty litter. Kitty litter is designed to clump, which can make it a really terrible product for your pipes and sewers.

What Not to Flush Down Your Other Drains

In households across Pittsburgh, people flush a number of other things down their sinks and showers. Some of the most common items include:

• Hair. Flushing hair down the sink is usually an accident, but hair is one of the most common culprits when it comes to making clogs in the pipes. To prevent hair from going down the drain, protect it with a filter or a screen that can catch the hair before it goes down.
• Medicine. Medicine isn’t bad for your plumbing, but it is bad for the water supply. If you’re not sure what to do with your medical waste, talk to your doctor.

Contact Terry’s Plumbing For Help

If you’ve clogged the pipes, Terry’s Plumbing can help. Whether your plumbing is clogged with super glue or stickers, banana peels or coffee grounds, we can clear the pipes and get the water moving through the drain once again. To make an appointment, contact us today at (412) 364-9114.