back to blog

Drain Cleaning and What You Shouldn’t Flush

Although it may be tempting, sometimes we forget that drains can be fragile when items end up there when they shouldn’t, costing you tons of money on a drain cleaning. Even though it seems okay at the time, pouring oil down the sink or flushing a diaper in the toilet can have long-lasting and damaging effects to your plumbing system. No one wants to deal with a backup or overflow, especially when it comes to such essential home items like your toilet or kitchen sink. That is why it is important to understand what you can and can’t throw down the drain, so you can avoid a costly drain cleaning.

Why Take Advice from Cranney Home Services?

We would like to think that the systems we use are indestructible and can take on anything that gets flushed. However, that obviously isn’t the case and even though your disposal is great at chewing up food, it can take a toll over time and build up blockage. That is why our experts here at Cranney Home Services we like to make sure you’re taking care of your plumbing system the right way. There are always going to be limits with your systems, which is why we are here to help and make sure things run smoothly, with our expert maintenance, repair, installation services. We know the difference between right and wrong, so take it from us before you make the mistake of damaging your plumbing system.

FOGs (Fats, Oils, Grease)

As mentioned previously, you should absolutely avoid pouring oils, grease or cooking fats down your kitchen sink. Even though you just cooked some bacon in the morning and can’t wait to start eating it, you can’t just go ahead and pour all that extra grease down the drain. You have to keep in mind that having an open and clear sink drain will help you avoid that costly drain cleaning. When you pour any sort of grease down the drain, it congeals as it cools. Which basically means you’ll have a greasy lining on your pipes which clogs the drains and slows the rate of water going through it. Also, when grease, oil or cooking fats are meshing with public sewer systems, they mix with solid particulates, which ultimately damages public infrastructure and makes it more expensive to treat water.

Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells, and Bones

Sticking with the kitchen sink theme, another product to avoid sending down the drain to avoid any drain cleaning is coffee grounds. Unless you want clogged plumbing, said no one ever, don’t ever put coffee grounds down the sink or garbage disposal. Coffee grounds are one of the most common culprits for clogged drains. Egg shells, bones or simply food with hard edges are another one of those products to avoid as well. Again, we all love to believe that are garbage disposals can handle anything, but in reality, eggs shells and small bones from poultry or fish can damage and clog up your drains. Always throw them in the trash.

Hair and Dental Floss

Another sink that’s used often and always deserves great care is your bathroom sink. Hair and dental floss tend to up in your kitchen sink drain, and we get it, it happens. However, to avoid a drain cleaning, you shouldn’t clean out your hairbrush and dispose of the wad of hair the drain no matter how convenient it is. Never put dental floss in the sink either. The stringy item will eventually get tangled up and becomes a clog almost impossible to clear.

Disposable Diapers and Feminine Hygiene Products

Your toilet is another item we take for granted. A lot of people think a toilet can handle just about anything, but that really isn’t the case. Some things you want to avoid doing so that you don’t need to call for a drain cleaning are flushing disposable diapers and feminine hygiene products. Never flush a disposable diaper or sanitary napkin down the drain. These items are just too big for a toilet to handle and they frequently become stuck and hard to dislodge. In a lot of cases, you’ll need a professional to disassemble your pipes just to remove these kinds of items. It may even go as far as digging up buried pipes in your yard, which not only destroys your lawn but also costs a ton of money.

Paper Towels, Cotton Balls and Swabs

Paper towels, cotton balls, and swabs are also items to avoid flushing down the toilet to avoid any kind of drain cleaning. Unlike toilet paper, paper towels and cotton balls or swabs are not designed to disintegrate in water. They’re also absorbent which means they’re only going to get heavier and harder to move once they get wet. Flushing these products down the toilet will block plumbing lines and lead to further problems, making it a costly and pretty disgusting problem to fix.

Medication, Stickers, and Band-Aids

Medication, stickers, and Band-Aids should also not be flushed down the toilet or poured down the bathroom sink. Whether it is an over-the-counter prescription or medication, never flush them down the toilet or pour them down the sink. Public water filtration systems cannot remove medications from water, which means those meds can be transferred to you via tap water. That’s definitely a major no-no. Anything with adhesive can surely cause problems for your plumbing system as well. Even though they might be small, little stickers can collect and create clogs and blockage in your plumbing system. And unless you want to pay for a drain cleaning, avoid flushing Band-Aids and keep stickers from going down the drain as well.

Don’t get stuck paying for a drain cleaning that you could have avoided and call Cranney Home Services today for any questions or concerns regarding plumbing!