It is important to make sure that your drainpipes are well maintained and taken care of, as the consequences, later on, can be quite challenging to fix and will require you to engage a plumber.
In the kitchen, it is not uncommon for bits and pieces of food to slip down the sink and into the drainpipes. However, not all of these food items can totally slip down the pipes.
Some food products can form and create new substances like thick pastes or globs of fat that can lead not only to clogging but damage to the integrity of your pipes, increased water pressure, and more.
Once these food products reach your drain, they can accumulate and stay in place to create one big clog.
As such, it is important to be mindful of the types of food that can clog up the drainpipe of your sink. To help you, we’ve compiled a list of some types of food that can cause your drainpipes to clog.
Food That Can Clog Up The Drainpipes
As a general rule of thumb, food and substances that do not break down such as eggshells, fibrous food, and non-food items like grease and oil will accumulate and clog up your pipes. Here are some of these examples:
1). Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves
Though these food items are naturally biodegradable, they do not break down in water.
If the quantity is high enough, they can actually form together to create a sludge that can clog your drains. Make sure you dispose of them in another manner.
2). Eggshells
Eggshells have a sand-like consistency that not only causes a foundation to form that leads to a clog but can damage the integrity of your pipes as well.
They also cannot easily break up and break down, which means they can get stuck in your pipes and cause a blockage. This is also applicable to bone shards.
Their membrane layers can also often get stuck and caught up in the pipes, which does not exactly remove the possibility of clogging.
3). Fibrous Foods
Fibrous foods such as onion skins, celery, corn husks, asparagus, and artichokes can become a hazard for your pipes.
This is because they cannot break down into smaller pieces and therefore can often get wrapped up or caught up inside the pipes.
4). Grease
Grease should never go down your drains. Once the grease cools down, it turns into a fatty glob that can buildup on the walls of your drain.
When the buildup becomes thick enough, this will lead to frequency clogging and other problems such as increased water pressure.
Therefore, fat, oil, and grease should not be going down your drain.
5). Fruit Pits
If you have a garbage disposal in your sink, fruit pits such as peach pits and apple cores can greatly damage the garbage disposal blades.
Moreover, a buildup of the pits of the fruits in the drain can cause major clogs and can even lead to having to replace your pipes.
6). Flour
Surprising, right? Flour seems harmless when it is dry; however, when it comes into contact with water, it can form a pasty substance that can immediately clog your drain.
It can also double as a trap by catching other food particles and created a compounded food sludge blockage.
7). Pasta
Pasta can expand the more it is exposed to water. Tossing it down the drain is not exactly the smartest idea. The more it expands, the more it can cause a clog in your drains.
Greasy pasta will also pose an even bigger problem. Always be mindful of pasta slipping down the drain.
8). Rice
Rice and pasta have the same characteristic in that they expand the more they sit in water. However, rice can create and form a thick paste, which can lead to some serious clogging.
Generally, starchy foods should not be going down your drain, including potato and their skins.
Final Thoughts
As we can see, with a bit of care, you can avoid blocked drain pipes by correctly disposing of food scraps and waste.
However, if your drainpipes are seriously blocked, and you are looking for trustworthy and reliable leak detection services in Melbourne, then look no further than Austest Pipeline Solutions.
We have more than 20 years’ experience in domestic, commercial, and industrial plumbing with water leak detection our specialty.
Please call us today for all your plumbing needs on 0410 609 961 or contact us here.