As Drainage Technicians, the bane of our existence is the mistreatment of FOG – fats, oils, and grease. These are by far the most problematic substance within all types of drainage and plumbing systems, and the reason behind a very significant number of our callouts.
In this blog article, we will explain how you can protect yourself against clogs like this by picking up a few good and simple habits. If you are facing a drainage issue, give us a call now on 0808 164 0776.
How Do Fats and Greases Affect Your Drains?
One of the major factors that contribute to faulty drains are problematic substances and materials that will create a clog. Of all the substances that do this, FOG (fats, oils, and grease) are by far the worst and will very quickly create an issue both within your home and within the public network.
Part of the problem comes from the fact that greases and oils are liquid, meaning that we can easily pour them down the drain with many people assuming they will be washed away, out of sight and out of mind.
However, they will quickly congeal when they enter the cold atmosphere of your drainage system. This means that they will stop flowing into the public system and will start to form up into large fatty clogs which will then catch other debris, such as food waste.
In short, although it might seem fine and simple to flush your grease down our plughole, it will very quickly solidify and create an obstruction that water and other liquids will struggle to squeeze past.
How to Deal with FOG in Your Kitchen
Although pouring oils and greases down your sink might be the easiest mode of disposal, it will quickly come back to bite you. Luckily, there are a few good practices that you can adopt that take minimal effort and will keep your drainage pipes running freely.
- Collect Your Grease: Leftover cooking oils should be collected and disposed of in your kitchen bin. Simply collect it in a disposable plastic container, wait for it to solidify, then chuck it into the bin.
- Wipe Your Plates: Even the greasy residue on plates and dishes will pose a threat to your drainage pipes. Make sure to wipe all of your washing up with paper towels that should be disposed of in the bin before putting them inside your dishwasher or kitchen sink.
- Employ the Kettle: Once the fat has solidified, you still have a chance to deal with it if it relatively near the surface. Boil your kettle once a fortnight and pour it down the kitchen sink to loosen up any fat or grease build-ups.
Commercial Kitchen
In a commercial environment, there is likely to be a lot more FOG going around, and you will need to take extra special measures to make sure your pipes don’t suffer heavily. While all of the same rules apply, you will need to take extra measures to deal with the barrels of oil that are likely to build up.
Oil pickups services are available and will help to make sure that you meet all of your environmental responsibilities. This generally involves having a designated cooking oil bin that will be collected by professional companies every week, fortnight, or just as much as required.
This is a legal requirement and will help not only the environment but also your drainage pipes. If you run a restaurant and haven’t arranged for this service, it is essential you do so as soon as possible.
Get in Touch
No matter how vigilant you are, clogs can still happen. However, by having a reliable company like Clark Drainage on-hand, you can be sure to keep the disruption to an absolute minimum.
From our drain cleaning service that will blast off anything clinging to the side of your pipes to our quick, affordable, and effective drain unblocking service, we provide everything required to help you avoid a drainage disaster.
We can respond to emergency drainage issues within just 1-2 hours, and all of our technicians are trained to the very highest standard. Give us a call now on 0808 164 0776.
Alternatively, fill in our contact form, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
