Your kitchen drain is subject to more debris and possible clogs than most of the other drains in your home. For this reason, clogged kitchen drains can be more difficult to repair and cost a lot more to have serviced if a problem does arise. Most kitchen drain problems are caused by carelessness on the part of homeowners, and if you take a more proactive role in maintaining your kitchen drains and pay attention to what you put in the drain, you will spend much less on maintenance. Here are three things that you will want to avoid putting in your drain.
Food And Coffee
The most common cause of a clogged kitchen drain is food or other large pieces of trash that get stuck in the pipes. Generally speaking this is because someone did not scrape their plate off in a trash can before putting it in the sink and a piece of debris too large or too tough for the garbage disposal entered the pipe. The simple solution is to rake all of the big chunks of leftover food into a trashcan, and run the garbage disposal every time you put food waste in the kitchen sink. This will ensure that the waste is broken up into smaller pieces and will eliminate potential blockages. Coffee grounds can have a similar effect as food, and since the grounds are very small to begin with, the disposal will not be able to process them. Coffee grounds should always go in the trash.
Grease
It is very tempting to put grease in the kitchen sink, but that is really the worst thing that you could do with it. As the grease cools it forms a solid mass that blocks the pipes and the mass will just grow over time. If you plan on frying something either have a disposable container that you can put the grease in when you are done, or wait until the grease cools off enough and dump it in the garbage.
Chemical Cleaners
Finally, when the drain starts to run slow the normal reaction is to try to fix it yourself with a chemical drain cleaner. Fairfax VA plumbers and other experts will point out that this has a very serious long term impact on your pipes and plumbing system. The chemical cleaners are designed to be caustic, and they can cause expensive damage to your pipes, especially if you have an older home. It is better to use an auger or some other manual method to unclog the drain.
Clogged kitchen sinks are a natural part of homeownership, but you can reduce their frequency with these helpful tips.
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