You already know that hair and oil clog your household drains, but you might be surprised by some other culprits that stop the water flow. You should avoid these culprits as much as you avoid pouring cooking fat down the drain, but if you do end up with clogged drains, Five Star Plumbing can help. In the meantime, don’t put any of the following down your bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room drains.
Coffee Grinds or Tea Leaves
Never dump your coffee grinds or tea leaves down the drain. The grinds and leaves can collect in the trap and you’ll end up with quite a clog. Because coffee grinds are so fine, they can mix with other foods, oils, or even grime found inside old plumbing to create a paste ready to make your life miserable. Dump the grounds and tea leaves in the trash to avoid trouble.
Litter
Even if your kitty litter says it’s flushable, don’t flush it. Think about it this way: Clumping litter forms solid balls so you can scoop your cat’s urine out of the box to keep it clean. These balls may look as if they breakdown once you drop them into the toilet, but the sand can collect in traps and plumbing just as coffee grinds can. Even clay and natural litters should be emptied into the trash.
Peels and Rinds
Another drain enemy is fruit and vegetable peels and rinds. We know people love to put lemon and orange peels in their garbage disposal to deodorize the drain but even the best disposal cannot shred these down enough to prevent clogs. Some of the worst peels for any kitchen drain include apple, banana, carrot, and potato peels. All of these can cause serious clogs in the drain.
Skin Flakes
When you shower or take a bath your skin naturally sheds dead skin cells. This also happens when you shave. These skin flakes head down the drain and stick to the plumbing pipe walls. You might think it’s impossible to avoid skin flakes going down the drain but you can reduce them by putting drain screens in all of your drains, even the kitchen sink drain. This prevents residue from going down the drain.
Starch
Finally, don’t wash uneaten macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, or mashed potatoes down the drain while doing the dishes. As with skin flakes, starchy foods can stick to drain walls and clump up in plumbing just as cat litter does. It’s best to avoid putting anything starchy down the drain. This one may be the oddest, as most people wouldn’t think that grinding up the uneaten spaghetti would cause problems.
If you end up with clogged drains, call Five Star Plumbing. We have locations in San Antonio, TX.
