There is no food tastier and more appreciated than a good piece of bacon to accompany your breakfast, or any meal, really. Its flavor, smell, and greasy texture pair well with almost any meal. The leftover bacon grease can be a pain, and you could feel tempted to throw it down the sink. But have you ever considered if it is a good idea?
It is not okay to pour bacon grease down the sink or any other drain in your house. Bacon grease cools down quickly when poured down the drain and, when solidified, can considerably clog and damage your drain pipes.
In one of the worst-case situations I’ve heard of, a whole city sewer system was clogged!
It is not recommended to throw away leftover bacon fat down the drain. This can have severe consequences for your home drainage system. Keep reading to learn about the possible effects of putting grease down your kitchen or bathroom plumbing system. Furthermore, we will learn how to dispose of leftover bacon fat and give you some tips on dealing with a clogged pipe.
What Happens When You Dump Bacon Grease Down The Drain?
Maybe you think a little grease is not going to have much of an effect on your sink. The fat in bacon is in the form of liquid when it is hot. However, once it cools off, it becomes a large mass of solid waste that can be difficult to remove. This solid waste sticks to the walls of the pipes and does not dissolve, clogging your kitchen or toilet drain pipe.
The outcome of putting any grease into drains or toilets can be destructive. Once bacon grease is deposited in your pipes and solidifies, other foods you dispose of will adhere to it. As more waste sticks to the fat, the clog continues to grow, affecting your home and possibly an entire city sewer system. When a city’s sewer system is broken, it can cause harm to the environment and harm our health.
Think about the fact that if your drainage system is clogged, you cannot flush the toilet, and your kitchen sink will accumulate a lot of garbage. This garbage accumulation can provoke growing bacteria and toxicity that can have adverse effects on people.
You may think that this is an exaggeration, but it is not. If other people in your neighborhood use the same strategy to get rid of the bacon grease, it becomes a huge issue. Here is an example of how a “simple mistake” in grease disposal altered a whole city.
In 2015, The Washington Post reported that a 10-ton ball of grease damaged the London sewer system. They stated that they required replacing almost 100 feet of piping. This event was such a big issue in this city that Thames Water, the company in charge of piping maintenance, had a team dedicated exclusively to dealing with this problem. It took months to get this giant ball of grease removed, and repairs cost about $600,000.
Can You Pour Bacon Grease Down The Drain With Hot Water?
Some people may think that hot water will move grease down the sewer pipe. However, this is a myth.
Hot water can make the bacon grease go further down the drain before solidifying, The water will cool off, and the fat will still become solid, eventually causing your drain pipes to be clogged.
The hot water technique used for grease disposal is not the only myth some people follow. It would be best if you also avoid other mistakes when getting rid of bacon grease, such as:
● Using the garbage disposal.
The garbage disposal will not prevent food or grease from passing into the sewer pipes. The garbage disposal may break up solid garbage, but fat, oil, and grease will still flow down the drain and cause a blockage. Grease will slowly build up over time and hinder the blades of your garbage disposal.
● Using dish soap.
Dish soap will not prevent grease from passing through the pipe but only breaks up grease temporarily. After a few minutes, the fat will begin to congeal and build up the blockage.
Can You Flush Bacon Grease Down The Toilet?
Another myth when disposing of cooking grease is that you can flush it down the toilet. This way of getting rid of bacon grease is never a good idea.
Bacon grease should not be flushed down the toilet. Bacon grease may be liquid when it is hot, but when it cools, it becomes thicker and solid, and it will lead to clogging your pipes.
How To Dispose Of Bacon Grease?
I recommend reusing bacon grease, but if you do want to get rid of it, here are the steps to take to dispose of bacon grease properly:
- Let the bacon grease cool down but not congeal
- Pour or scoop the bacon grease into a non-recyclable container
- Throw the container into the trash (Not recycling)
It would be best to consider the following tips for properly getting rid of grease before pouring it down the sink.
Use empty plastic containers, old cans, or jars. Let the grease cool down and before it gets solid, put them into these containers. Once the grease becomes firm, you can throw the container in the trash.
Before washing, use a paper towel or napkin to remove the oily residue from your pans, pots, and utensils. This simple task will prevent this oily residue from going down the sink.
Alternatively, you can strain the grease for food particles and keep it for cooking in the future.
Other methods of disposing of bacon grease include using aluminum foil. Either by placing the layer of foil on top of the drainage opening to catch all of the fat. Or by always cooking bacon in the oven. To follow this last method, you should add a sheet of aluminum paper to the bottom of the baking pan. After the fat has cooled down, you ball the paper up and throw it away.
What To Do If You Pour Bacon Grease Down The Drain?
What if you already poured some bacon grease down the drain? The chances are that your drain is clogged with oil.
Indications that you have clogged pipes are:
● Water drains slowly.
● You can hear the gurgling sound down the sink.
● Water-logged areas around your home.
● Foul smells.
Once you realize that your sink may be clogged, stay calm. There is always a solution, but you need to take action as soon as possible.
Baking soda is one of the most magical and helpful things you should always have at home. It can help you save your sink from getting clogged.
Here is what to do if you pour bacon grease down the drain:
● Pour a mixture of vinegar and baking soda down the sink, about a 1:2 blend. Together, these two components are a natural cleaner and will help break those solid masses out of your sink. Rinse it down with hot water.
● After pouring the vinegar and baking soda mix, you can use a plumbing auger, also called a plumbing snake. This tool is a flexible coil of wire that you introduce down the sink. It helps hook solid objects to get them out or break them into small pieces that can be easily removed.
● If none of the above works, it is time to call a professional drain clearing service to remove the clog.
Final Thoughts
We learned that disposal of bacon grease or other oily material down the sink is not a good idea. Even a tiny amount of grease can damage your kitchen or toilet and your city’s sewers. Grease can create big chaos because it can cause a snowball effect of consequences.
