How to Prevent Fats, Oils, and Greases from Damaging Your Home and the Environment

 Fats, Oils, and Greases aren't just bad for your arteries; they're bad for sewers, too.

 Accumulations of greases are an increasingly common cause of overflows in sewer pipes.

Where does the grease come from?

 Grease gets into the sewer from household drains as well as from poorly maintained grease traps in restaurants and other businesses.  Most of us know grease as the byproduct of cooking. Grease is found in such things as:

  ·       Meat fats

  ·       Bacon grease

  ·       Cooking oil

  ·       Shortening

  ·       Butter and margarine

  ·       Food scraps

  ·       Sauces

  ·       Dairy products

 Too often, grease is washed into the plumbing system, usually through the kitchen sink. Grease sticks to the inside of sewer pipes, both on your property and in the streets. Over time, the grease can build up and block the entire pipe.

 Home garbage disposals do not keep grease out of the plumbing system. These units only shred solid material into smaller pieces and do not prevent grease from going down the drain.

Commercial additives, including detergents that claim to dissolve grease may pass grease down the line and cause problems in other areas.

Why should you care?

Improper disposal of Fats, Oils and Grease can result in:

D  Raw sewage overflowing in your home, basements or your neighbor's home causing property damage and serious health risks;

?  Cleaning and sanitizing your home after a backup can be very expensive and is often not covered by homeowners insurance;

??                                        Expensive plumbing bills;   and an increase in maintenance costs for the sewer department, which causes higher sewer bills for customers.

What can you do?

The easiest way to solve the grease problem and help prevent overflows of raw sewage is to keep this material out of the sewer system in the first place.

There are several ways to do this.

1.  Never pour grease down sink drains or into toilets.

2.  Scrape grease and food scraps from, plates, pots, pans and, utensils into a can or the trash for disposal.

3.  Do not put grease down garbage disposals. Put baskets/strainers in sink drains to catch food scraps and other solids, and empty the drain baskets/strainers into the trash for disposal.

4.  Speak with your friends and neighbors about the problem of grease in the sewer system and how to keep it out.

If you have any questions about the effects of Fats, Oils and Greases in the sewer pipes or methods you can use to reduce the amounts of FOG leaving your home, please call the Water Pollution Control office at 584-3821.