Do you think that your pipes can handle anything? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Whether a single careless pour wrecks your plumbing or it’s the case of a thousand cuts ultimately doing so, the result can be thousands of dollars of damage.
But don’t worry. We’ll break down the worst offenders so that you know what to never send swirling down your sink and into your pipes as well as what to do if damage has already been done.
The Offenders (What Should NEVER Go Down Your Drain!)
To keep your drains clear of clogs, ensure that these offenders do not enter them.
1. Grease, Fats and Oils
Grease, fats and oils not only clog your drains in of themselves, but they can also bind with other objects to create even more of a blockage.
2. Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds have the potential to stick to your pipes as well as mix with other types of food to become an even greater impediment to your flowing water. Use them for composting or simply throw them in the trash instead.
3. Flour and Dough
Flour and things made from it, such as dough, can thicken, which is definitely not what you want something that goes down your drain doing.
4. Pasta and Rice
These similar food items also have the potential to expand, especially if they are uncooked prior to entering your drainage system. If the pasta has semolina, it has even more potential to swell. Additionally, these foods tend to stick together, which can result in an even larger blockage.
5. Eggshells
Although a garbage disposal can grind up eggshells into tiny pieces, those can still cause issues. One way this is accomplished is through their pointed edges catching on to other items, ultimately resulting in a clog.
6. Medications and Vitamins
If you have medications or vitamins that you do not need or that have expired, you may consider sending them down the drain. Don’t. What they contain can erode your pipes.
7. Paint
Regardless of if you’re using latex or oil-based paint, you shouldn’t dump it down the sink. Not only might doing so be against local regulations, but this act can also result in an expensive clog down the line, partially as a result of it painting your pipes’ insides.
8. Harsh Chemicals & Cleaning Products
Harsh chemicals and most cleaning products need to stay away from your plumbing system and should be disposed of elsewhere. One of the few exceptions of the latter is highly diluted bleach that’s used to wash your laundry or clean your bathtub or toilet; that can safely enter your pipes.
9. Motor Oil & Antifreeze
Motor oil and antifreeze should not be put into any sort of water system, not down a storm drain, not into the soil and definitely not into your pipes. In fact, doing so is illegal in many places.
10. Hair
A common culprit that many do not think of is hair. Of course, this going down your drain cannot be completely avoided in many circumstances, such as while taking a shower, but it should be limited as much as possible since hair can catch other waste and help create or further a significant blockage.
11. Paper Towels, Wipes & Napkins
Paper towels, wipes and napkins shouldn’t go down your drains, even if they’re advertised as “flushable,” as they don’t break down all that well or quickly. Generally, the only item similar to those that should enter your plumbing system is toilet paper.
12. Feminine Hygiene Products
Feminine hygiene products, even ones labeled as “flush-friendly,” can get stuck in your pipes and cause severe, costly damage.
13. Cat Litter
Regular cat litter shouldn’t go into your toilet or otherwise enter your drains. That includes “flushable” cat litter. As our punctual plumbers know well, all types of cat litter have the potential to clog drains.
14. Produce Stickers
Be wary of the produce stickers that are on those tasty bananas and avocados as they can then stick onto your pipes and slowly but steadily decrease their interior circumference.
15. Fruit Pits & Seeds
Fruit pits are generally hard enough that garbage disposals will not cut them up well, which is an issue. As for seeds, by their nature, they can grow, sometimes substantially and sometimes doing so while in your drains.
16. Cigarette Butts & Ashes
Although it may seem so easy and harmless to put your cigarette butts and ashes down your sink’s drain or flush them down the toilet, don’t do either. They can damage your pipes.
17. Condoms
Condoms are not biodegradable and will not dissolve. As a result, they can cause issues in the water supply that’s far beyond your house while they can also just as easily get stuck in your plumbing instead.
18. Dental Floss & Cotton Swabs
Amongst the items that aren’t commonly thought of when considering what not to send into drainage systems are dental floss and cotton swabs. Neither should be as they don’t break down in water.
19. Baking Grease / Pan Drippings
Baking grease can become a particularly significant issue if it goes down the drain as the cooling process solidifies it, meaning that it could be a liquid going down before turning into a solid while in your pipes. Wait until it cools, and then throw your pan drippings in the trash.
20. Butter & Cream-Based Sauces
Other items that solidify – i.e. can become a solid while in your pipes – are butter and cream-based sauces. Throw those food items out, potentially in a container, to avoid blockages.
21. Sauces with High Sugar or Salt Content
No sauces should be poured into the sink, and this advice is even more strongly recommended if the sauce has high sugar or salt content. That’s because both can attract and hold on to moisture.
Final Takeaways
Avoiding putting these everyday items into your pipes and instead using things like sink strainers, grease traps, vinegar and hot water will allow you to greatly reduce your chances of a wrecked drain. Also keep in mind the phrase, “When in doubt, throw it out,” while considering what to put down your drain.
However, sometimes, blockages do still occur. Also, perhaps tremendous damage from grease, paint, paper towels, seeds and similar items has already taken place, resulting in a drainage system that’s backing up on you and requires emergency care.
If you need to get your pipes cleared right away, Benjamin Franklin’s punctual plumbers will be glad to help. We provide professional drain clearing services in Orlando, FL, and the surrounding areas.