Prevention of problems is always less costly then maintenance or repairs. Often the difference in how you do things to reduce problems is pretty apparent but sometimes we don’t take care and over time the stuff you flush or put down your sink will result in hours or days without use of your plumbing system not to mention the mess in fixing it yourself or the cost in having someone else do it for you.
Garbage disposals have to be the worst culprit for plumbing problems. Whoever designed this appliance must have owned a plumbing repair company that thought to themselves how can we make people pay $300 for something they shouldn’t use that will also increase our service calls.
Although using a disposal is better then just forcing materials directly into your drain you have to realize that because your waste lines are not high pressure systems the garbage you put in your sink will remain in your pipes and result in clogs. Even if your straight pipes carry the material most of the way out of your house there will be buildup in your traps. When your traps don’t flow correctly that slows the movement of water in your straight lines that causes material to stick to the sides of your pipes eventually resulting in clogs.
My recommendation is that you use your disposals as little as you can. Scrape your pans and plates before you put them in the sink and use a strainer to catch larger material.
Grease is also a disaster for your waste lines. It sticks to the sides of pipes and acts like a glue. Maybe we all should consider if it can clog a 3 inch pipe over 10 years what will it do to our insides.. can’t be good.
If you are not willing to change your diet you should at least be kind to your waste system because after you have clogged your arteries you will be likely to have a heart attack when you see the bill from the plumber.
Our parents and grandparents would save grease in a jar or can for use in cooking.. pour off the bacon fat and store it in the refrigerator.. I don’t suggest you save it unless you like to make suit for birds or like to grease the kids sleds in the winter heh.. but the idea is the same. Instead of just pouring a cup of grease into your sink pour it off to cool in a soup can then dispose of it in your trash. It will biodegrade in a landfill and not cost you money on repairs.
Composting
Composting any organic material that is not animal products is not a bad idea. You never want to compost animal products because it will attract pests and it can not be used in your vegetable garden.
Many people don’t want to deal with compost in their yard. First it is not attractive and second it will attract pests. Not to mention the time it takes to drag it outside and throw it in a bin. I can’t blame you if you are one of these people and simply dispose of this material in your trash.
Flushing the Cat
Many people will simply flush cat litter in their toilet. This is a really bad idea because the material will end up clogging the traps in your septic system. It can also destroy a leach field if your home is on its own septic system instead of a Street Waste Line.
Be smart about what you flush down the toilet. If it wasn’t designed to be in a toilet then don’t put it in there.
Don’t flush tampons or paper towels or any paper product other then toilet paper..
Don’t clean your floors and collect a bucket of grease and hair and yuck and flush it … throw it in the backyard if you can or sweep before you scrub.
Final Note
So .. basically anything that you can keep out of your waste lines is going to benefit you in the long run. No matter how hard you try some grease will get into your system and there are going to be times when you forget by mistake… but it really should be the exception rather then the normal practice.
in other words … don’t use your drain for a trash can.