Putting cooking grease down the drain?

[abcomatic]

HI folks, Please give me your opinion on this. Is it ok to put leftover cooking oil etc. down the drain after you have finished cooking? Thanks, Gary

 

[spacedogb]

I do it all the time. I've been in my house a year now and never had a problem. I also let my George foreman grill run into the sink instead of collection tray. I even drained ground beef grease into the drain today still no issues and I don't run water after or anything.

 

[thomasortega]

Never, EVER do that, unless you're a psycho that don't think about the others and stupid enough to ignore that you can be one of the victims.

Of course, small amounts is impossible to avoid, for example washing a greasy frying pan. but NEVER, EVER, NO F-word way empty a fryer, for example, down the drain

It may not affect YOUR house, but it will definitely affect the public sewer system. It costs money to clean up "fatbergs" (and consequently makes everybody spend more money on utility bills)

It costs nothing to save the oil in a container and then dispose it accordingly.

Oil is also terrible for the sewer treatment and many times it can pass the treatment and end up in rivers or the ocean, causing a horrible environmental impact.

 

[woollyaxolotl]

This practice is certainly actively discouraged here. Oils in the altered pH environment of a sewer will harden and/or saponify, sometimes to the point where clearance equipment can’t cope and some poor soul has to dig them out by hand. As cities enlarge and test capacity of sewer systems there are an increasing number of ‘fatbergs’ forming under the streets. Particularly in areas with large numbers of restaurants (which should be able to demonstrate good practice with their waste oil disposal, but sometimes don’t). I can’t imagine it is much different elsewhere.

There was a rather off putting documentary here a few months ago called Fatberg Autopsy which was quite an eye opener. Another causative link was made with flushable wipes. Apparently ‘flushable’ simply means something will clear your domestic pipework with no obstruction. In a large bore public sewer with lower flow they often stick to flushed fats and accelerate blockages. Lovely!

 

[rolls_rapide]

I agree with Replies 2 & 3

Oils do thicken and accrete particles of solids, eventually restricting the drain. Fats certainly do in quick order.

What you SHOULD be doing, is to drain the lukewarm fat or oil into a suitable sealable bottle, wipe the majority of the residue off the surface with a paper towel or two, and dispose of the lot via the normal rubbish bin. Fats can also be left to congeal, then scraped off shallow pans, wrapped up, and put in the bin.

We had a silly neighbour who poured grease down the drain constantly. The drain blocked, and the idiot had to get Dyno-Rod out to clear it all.

So, the short answer is NO.

 

[neptunebob]

Frankie the Fish say:

Don't pour the grease down the drain, keep our 3 rivers clean!

http://https//goo.gl/images/MitqTG

 

[spacedogb]

Well I guess I'm psycho. The townhouse community I live in has dumpsters and grease tends to build up in the bottom and smell terrible. Louisiana weather+grease=horrific smells. It also tends to attract all kinds of critters like raccoons, opossums, and things that creep and crawl.

 

[tolivac]

DON'T especially if you have a septic tank!!!!For public sewers the aforementioned "fatbergs" are becoming more of a problem as folks pour the fats down the drain and then flush down non-flushable items-some folks insist on using their drains and toilets as trash cans.Best to do as your mother and grandmother did-dates back to the war days when the fats were recycled into explosives.Today sewer companies just don't want the stuff in the sewer lines-and the fats WILL eventually clog your home or buildings drain line.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Use an old sealable drinks bottle (water, Coca Cola, Jack Daniels). Even an old jam jar with lid will do. Old cooking oil bottles might do too, but some have a very loose twist lid.

Instant coffee jars? No. Frequently, they have a 'Mickey Mouse' twist on/off lid, with a waxed paper insert which becomes useless in the presence of liquids.

 

[gansky1]

We had family in town for the Memorial day weekend and made several meals, bacon and even french fries (outside) in the Presto Dixie fryer (Thanks, Don ;-)

The bacon grease congeals quickly and is easy to scrape, in small amounts, into the trash can on some paper towels but the fryer oil was funneled back into the bottles and disposed of that way.

My brother owns a plumbing company in Tucson, AZ and has said for many years that grease poured down the drains is his "bread and butter" for residential calls. No wive's tale remedies like pouring bleach or vinegar/soda concoctions take the place of proper use precautions when it comes to sewer care. If you put it in the drain, you'll end up paying (him) to come rout it out.

We used to keep a small coffee can in the freezer for pouring grease into and storing until the can was full, then put into the trash. My grandparents saved it in the same way but then it was given to a friend on a farm and used for feeding pigs and even the barn cats in the winter.

 

[turquoisedude]

We always seemed to live somewhere with a septic tank so we were always reminded (OK, yelled at...LOL) by my father not to pour any quantity of cooking grease or oil down a drain.  Even in later years on city sewage and with a half-decent disposer, we didn't even run cooked fat from steaks or chops down the drain.  

 

Seeing some of those videos of 'fat-bergs' in city sewer systems is pretty scary, so I still tend to be very careful about fats and greases! 

 

I also let grease set a bit then scrape it out into the trash OR, in the case of Ogden, into the city's compost bin.  

 

[seeitrun2006]

Cooking grease down the drain with a septic tank

We found out the hard way. When we first moved into our new home in April 1998 we had a garbage disposal. Key word here is "HAD". The widow who developed our neighborhood told us put any thing down that disposal including grease. "She had done it for years". We did the same!!! Bad mistake that was!!!

Fast forward 5 years to 2003....at that time we had a Maytag 512A washer. We were sitting on the front porch one afternoon. The Maytag was spinning out water (extra large setting 48 gallons of water)….a minutes later we saw water bubbly up in my front yard where the septic tank is located.

The septic tank pumping company came out the next day. Dug up my yard.....opened the lid to the septic tank and there was about 4 foot layer of nothing but grease build up. The 4" inch intake pipe in the septic tank only had a 1" opening due to grease build up. We were one step from a major disaster in our home.

Needless to say we paid $600.00 to have my septic drained/cleaned out. As he was driving down the driveway I was right behind him going to Home Depot. Removed the garbage disposal, did a re-do of the drains under the sink. Luckily (knocks on wood) we have not had a problem since.

Anything that has grease on it or in it is scraped off into the trash can. The septic tank guy told me as long as you do not put grease (of any kind) into a septic tank and use something like Rid-ex on a regular basis you should never have a problem. Of course unless you have a rather large family using it over several years.

Sorry this so long. I get started and don't know when to stop!!!

Peace and blessings,

David

 

[woollyaxolotl]

I have often wondered what in sink disposals were like for pipework and sewage facilities. I have no experience as they are vanishingly rare here. I’ve only ever used one and that was in the US. It seemed like harder work than just disposing of waste the usual way, but I suppose it means there’s less perishable waste sitting in the house.

 

[yogitunes]

just be careful for your local area.....as some city water depts. will conduct robot cameras into sewer lines during a cleanout/clog issue....and if excess amounts are found coming from your pipes, you WILL get a bill for the cleanup, and possibly a fine....

we have a restaurant up the street from us.....the clog from their grease traps that were not maintained properly cost them plenty in cleanup of the street pipes, as well as back-up messes that flooded into homes...

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Absolutely NO!

You may have gotten by with it till now but eventually putting grease in the disposal is going to cause a sewer back-up and you will be stuck with a big plumbing problem and or massive clean up bills if it backs up the street sewer.
WK78

 

[DADoES]

 
The main point emphasized to me by the installer/servicer of my septic system is no cooking grease into the drains.  It's 15 years and no mention thus far of a need for sludge pump-out.  I use pickle/jelly jars and such to collect grease and put them into the trash.

 

[jakeseacrest]

We save coffee cans to put our grease in

 

[mattl]

I'm not going to dump a quart of grease down my drain, but have no issue dumping small quantities down the drain.  If I brown hamburg, I simple drain it into the disposer and run some hot water down after it.  Been doing it for decades and not a single issue.  Actually can't really see an issue with oil as it does not solidify as fat does. Don't have a septic system so for me that is not an issue.

 

[woollyaxolotl]

In the altered environment of the sewer system- different pH, different temperatures, different chemical mix- oils turn rock hard. Think of olive oil soap. The reaction is different but the principle is the same. Small amounts of fat washed down by one individual are probably fine for that person, but it does come down to chance rather than being best practice, unfortunately.

 

[askolover]

We should Absotively Posilutely never do that! 

 

[polkanut]

In our household we save some of the glass jars that the pickles we buy come in.  When the grease has cooled a bit we carefully pour it in the jar using a canning funnel, and when full it goes in the trash.

 

[tolivac]

Dumping the oil followed by hot water is one of the worst things you can do.The water cools down quickly as it goes thru the homes main drain line to the street sewer line.With other debris in the line the oil hardens.Again-don't do it.Put the oil in a jar that you can put in the trash or fat recycling.

 

[launderess]

You really shouldn't

Since learned how to cook and all through having one's own establishment have never poured grease/oils down toilet or sink. It just can lead to all sorts of problems both with drains in building and whatever else outside (septic, sewer system).

Once cooled have a large funnel used just for when pouring used oils into a container (empty cooking oil bottle, can, etc..., even a Ziploc bag). Container is then closed/sealed, placed in a sturdy plastic bag then at once thrown out with the rubbish.

Solid fats are scrapped out into old newspaper, wrapped again in same then placed in rubbish.

Don't make bacon often as back in the day; but when did those drippings were saved to use when baking or cooking other things. That seems to have been normal as you can find special vintage canisters (mostly aluminum) with "Bacon" printed on.

 

[sudsomatic]

As far back as I can remember..

Grease down the drain was a deathly sin. Hah maybe not quite... but I remember getting yelled at too, once I was old enough to cook, that grease goes in the trash not the sink.

My Mom was very thrifty and washed up and saved just about any reusable jar or food container we bought something in no matter what it was made of and our grease usually ended up in a butter tub or cottage cheese container. She would let it cool slightly but it never melted the plastic even fresh from the burner (I know because I rarely had patience to let it sit a bit).

The containers lid snapped on tight when it was full (since they're constructed to be airtight to keep the contents fresh originally) so as to keep the grease particles that stayed liquid safely inside. To this day I still do the same in my own cooking. Just ingrained in my brain at this point.

 

[ea56]

I don’t like to put grease down the drain either, I just pour it into whatever empty can, jar, bottle of container that is handy in the garbage at the time. My paternal Grandma was from Missouri and she always saved the leftover bacon grease in a cup that she kept on the shelf of her Okeeffe and Merritt gas stove.
She used it for cooking. She believed that you couldn’t cook any green vegetable without either ham hocks or bacon grease for flavor, especially fresh green beans. And she always used bacon grease to grease the pan or griddle for pancakes. All the rest of the leftover grease or fat went into coffee cans. She would make lye soap with it, or just dispose of it in the trash.

Eddie

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Like most everyone else here, I never pour grease / fat / oil down the drain if I can possibly avoid it!  It will either be wiped up/out with a paper towel, go into sealable container or a ziplock bag, into the freezer (if it's a large amount) then the trash on trash day. 

 

Growing up my mom always had a quart size(??) covered aluminum can next to the stove for bacon grease.  The removable strainer kept particles and burnt bits out of the grease, which was always used for frying, sauteing or otherwise adding flavor.  When I fry bacon (rarely these days) I'll pour the grease into a bowl for re-use and cover it with plastic wrap after it's cooled. 

 

[gyrafoam]

Never had that problem in the Deep-South. Nobody ever threw out good grease. Country folks put bacon grease in everything but the iced tea.

 

[askolover]

Well Steven, here you go

http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=7374

 

[iheartmaytag]

It's a never here.

The city asks that people don't put grease or oil down the drain, and have ads that demonstrate how difficult it is to remove from the waste water, as well as adding cost to the treatment process.

I understand that there is a small amount that is washed away from cleaning pans etc, but usually this waste is emulsified by the detergents that are used in cleaning. Still restaurants are required to have grease traps to prevent oils and fats from entering the sewage system.

As far as septic tanks. That should be a BIG NEVER, I can only imagine what these would do to the leach field.

 

[sudsmaster]

I'm on the city sewer system, but I never pour grease down the drain. I keep a large trash bin under sink (lined with drawstring plastic and on a roller shelf for easy access). Usually there's enough debris in there already that a small amount of grease can be added the ther other stuff will absorb it. For larger amounts I keep old oil containers and add the spent oil/grease to them, Then they go in the trash. Although I've heard biodiesel facilities will accept oil/grease donations. Never tried it myself.

IMHO garbage disposers get a bad rap for clogged drains/septic tanks. But then I only use my disposer for stuff that's difficult to just remove by hand from the sink. This keeps the amounts that get into the drain system relatively small. I've heard some avid composters hook up a disposer to a bucket that is then used to feed a compost pile. I haven't gone that far, but sometimes I'll take a lot of food waste and mix it in with the compost. If done correctly, it all disappears and makes for a great soil amendment.

When I as a kid my mom used to make soap from kitchen grease. It was brown and kind of nasty smelling, but I guess it worked OK. She was from the generation that scrimped and saved, and went through WWII where every bit of oil and grease was saved to make ammunition. Or some such.

PS-Did you know that Canola/rapeseed oil was found to be perfect for lubricating old steam engines? It tends to cling to metal surfaces even in the presence of hot steam. A lot of rape was planted in Canada during WWII to help produce the valuable oil. Selective breeding created rape plants that produced oil with fewer potentially toxic components, for human consumption, and became known as Canola oil.