Avoid Pain in the Drain This Thanksgiving

- Information received from a DSRSD press release

Whether you’re deep-frying, roasting, or barbecuing your turkey—or feasting on something else this holiday season—don’t pour cooking oil or grease down the drain. Grease blocks drains and sewers, and a raw sewage backup is a sure-fire recipe for a holiday disaster. Avoid “pain in the drain” by recycling cooking oil and grease and properly disposing of other pipe-clogging wastes.

• Collect waste cooking oil and grease in a container with a tight-fitting lid and bring it to a hazardous waste collection center. Visit www.baywise.org to find the nearest location.

• Never put grease, greasy food, or cooking oil down the drain. After soaking a greasy pan, place a paper towel over the drain basket to catch grease and food particles as you slowly pour the water down the drain. Put the paper towel in your green waste cart.

• Use your green waste container rather than your garbage disposal for food scraps, especially things such as bulky vegetable peelings and stringy celery.

• Never flush wipes, diapers, or sanitary products down the drain, even those labeled as “flushable.”  Instead, put these waste products in the trash, not in the toilet.

is joining with other local wastewater agencies in an “Avoid Pain in the Drain” campaign this holiday season, sponsored by the Bay Area Pollution Prevention Group.
 
“You might think it doesn’t hurt to rinse a small amount of grease down the drain, especially if you use hot water. But hot water only pushes the grease a bit further down the pipe where it solidifies and traps debris,” said Dan Gallagher, Operations Manager of the Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility operated by DSRSD.

What’s true for private plumbing is magnified in the public sewer system. According to Gallagher, grease is the worst enemy in the District’s battle to keep the public sewer lines clear. Toilets used as trash cans also contribute to the problem. DSRSD crews spend months each year cleaning grease, grit, and debris from sewer lines and treatment plant equipment.
 
Property owners are responsible to maintain and repair the private sewer lines that connect their home plumbing to the public sewer in the street, while DSRSD maintains the sewer pipes in the streets, all the way to the wastewater treatment plant. Proper maintenance of their private sewer lines can save homeowners thousands of dollars in repairs.

Homes built before 1980 are likely to have clay or even cast iron sewer pipes, which should be checked by a licensed plumber every five to ten years (or sooner if drains are running slowly) for clogs, tree root intrusion, and separation at joints. Newer homes, typically built with stronger, smoother, and more flexible plastic sewer pipes, may not need to be checked as often, as long as grease or trash is not being flushed down the drain and the pipes have not been damaged by landscaping or construction work.