Thanksgiving is the time of year when family and friends gather to enjoy a fine meal and celebrate love and friendship.
Please remember to dispose of your F.R.O.G.—fats, rags, oil, and grease, in the trash and NOT down the sink or toilet to avoid a kitchen catastrophe. Any of these items can cause a sink-backup even when poured down a garbage disposal.
Common sources of fats, oils, and grease include:
- Cooking oils
- Meat drippings
- Milk, butter, ice cream, and other dairy products
- Soups, sauces, and gravy
- Mayonnaise and salad dressings.
As for rags, so-called “flushable wipes,” as well as baby wipes, paper towels, cleaning wipes, and shop towels, are all hazards to the system as they will not dissolve and wreak havoc on sewer systems leading to backups and sanitary sewer overflows.
Here are a few recommendations to avoid a holiday kitchen nightmare.
- Recycle used cooking oil. You can cool vegetable-based cooking oil and place it in a coffee can, empty cooking oil bottle, Mason jar, or other container and then make a trip to one of these locations: 3701 S. Elm Pl. or the M.E.T Recycle Center at 302 N. Elm Pl. The M.E.T. will recycle your cooking oil and the container, but you will need to take the container home if you go to the South Elm location.
- Use as little cooking oil as possible and reuse the oil until it is spent. This will save you money and limit the amount of oil that must be disposed of.
- Scrape and wipe pots, pans, and dishes with a paper towel before washing.
- Pour fat and grease into an empty vegetable can and allow it to cool. Once hardened, place the can in the trash. *Meat drippings, bacon grease, and fat should always be thrown in the trash and not into the recycle bin because they are considered a different type of waste than vegetable-based cooking oil.
- Throw away any other kitchen scraps. Compost your vegetable-based cooking scraps instead of putting them down the drain. Any solids that go down the drain can get stuck in sewer lines, especially if grease build-up is present.
- A helpful tip is to buy only enough food for your family to eat in one week. Spoiled or expired food products often get poured down the drain and create grease build-up in the sewer lines.
- Another helpful tip is to prepare only enough food for your family to eat in one night. Leftovers often get poured down the drain and create grease build-up on sewer lines.
- Wipes and other sanitary items made with cotton should never be flushed. Even if they are sold as “flushable”, the products do not break down or dissolve. They clog the sewer lines as well as sewer pump stations.
These are just a few reminders to help you spend more time with your family and less time with your local plumber unless he is a part of the family. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Leave a Reply