When customers contact us looking for cheap plumbing services, it’s occasionally because they caused a problem with their plumbing system by flushing food scraps down the sewer.
Although many of us have become very reliant on our garbage disposal systems, which most people agree are one of the best inventions of the 20th century. Having the convenience of just rinsing we wash away your dinner plates and flipping a switch so all the food scraps isn’t something that everyone has access to.
Unfortunately, too many people are tempted to simply flush their food scraps down the drain. The primary excuse that we encounter is that they don’t want to have to deal with the smell of food waste in their kitchen until they dispose of the garbage the next day. This is understandable as disposing of fish or eggs can be a little smelly
HOWEVER, HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY YOU CANNOT FLUSH FOOD DOWN YOUR TOILET.
THE PIPES AREN’T DESIGNED FOR FOOD
Most pipes are not designed to run from your toilet to your major sewer and toilets are not designed to deal with food scraps to begin with. Because of this, food can easily block these pipes and create a backlog of raw sewage that can snow back into your home or apartment.
SOME FOOD CAN BLOCK SEWER LINES
Two of the most popular food substances that end up in sewage systems are fats and oils when cooking oil butter or bacon fat cools it solidifies, and this congeals on the inside of your sewer line initially it will constrict the flow of sewage and eventually stop it completely. Hardening cooking fats are causing extensive damage to sewers all around the country, forming fatbergs that can affect your entire District.
OTHER FOODS DEGRADE TOO SLOWLY
Foods such as apple cores corn on the cobs and animal bones take ages to decompose and if you flush this food down your toilet, it’ll take a miracle to avoid blocking it never mind the fact if it works its way through the sewage system it’s just going to end up as more fodder for the giant fatberg that’s hiding down there
MANY FOODS ABSORB WATER
Other foods such as oats and rice are very water absorbent and just swell up when they come into contact with it. So, flushing a bowl of oatmeal may seem innocent, but it’ll quickly clog up your sewer line.
SEWAGE MAINTENANCE IS COSTLY
Nobody likes taxes. It’s going to cause your District additional expenses by flushing food down into the sewage systems because this is going to cause massive disruption to your city’s wastewater processes. The cost of maintaining these systems is rising annually.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR LEFTOVERS INSTEAD OF FLUSHING THEM?
So, we understand why you may not want to leave smelly leftovers in your garbage until the next day, but here are some options worthy of consideration that might help.
- Some leftovers can easily be frozen or refrigerated to use at a later date, there are hundreds of different ways to repurpose leftover food
- If you have some smelly liquid-based food or cooking pots, you can pour them back into an old can and reseal it or get a leakproof plastic bag fill it and then just toss it back into the trash this will keep the smell nicely sealed away
- Virtually 100% of food waste can become composite. You can ask anyone near your locality if they have a composting program. Separate the scraps that can be used for this purpose and you can create your own pile if you have the space
- Now it’s time to tackle the number one reason people’s flush food scraps, they smell. The easiest solution to get to work around these is to put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. When trash day comes around just popped them into your bin and take it down to the curbside.
HOW TO REDUCE YOUR FOOD WASTE?
Now that we have addressed what to do with unwanted food waste, the next step is to reduce the amount of food waste that you create to begin with. On average, American families throw away about $1,500 worth of perfectly wonderful food every year. For some people, that’s close to 20% of what they buy. Here are some ways to reduce the amount of food waste you create and thus negate any reasons for flushing it down your toilet.
OPERATOR FIRST IN FIRST OUT POLICY
Anytime you go grocery shopping religiously sort all your new items in your refrigerator making sure that anything new is put to the back and old is put to the front so it doesn’t get hidden.
FREEZING WORKS
I know we mentioned this earlier but freezing your leftovers works, you can always use them for stews or soups at a later date.
GET YOUR CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING
If part of last night’s dinner was fried rice, adding some roasted vegetables and a cooked protein will quickly make you lunch the next day.
PLAN YOUR MEALS BEFOREHAND
If you haven’t successfully managed meal planning before, it takes a little of effort, but you’ll be amazed at the amount of food waste you manage. By planning your dinners every week in advance, as a result, you’ll only buy the ingredients you need and the amount of food you throw away will reduce drastically.
SHOP WITH A STRATEGY
When you enter a store always have a plan in mind that way your cheese, side of spinach, and half bag of potatoes you have at home won’t be wasted.
LEARN TO USE EVERYTHING
Even the broccoli stalks that you usually cut off and throw away can be sliced into smaller, more manageable pieces that can be sautéed beautifully. Herbs and carrot tops can make a tasty pesto. You can learn to be more frugal and to use everything
But in the event flushing food or any other mishap leads you to need a plumbing service in Chantilly, please contact us today.
