WACO, Texas — As many families start their Thanksgiving cooking, a frequent question is asked ... what should you do with the leftover grease or oil?
If you pour it down the sink, you might be creating problems for yourself. Plumbers will all tell you, pouring oil and grease down the drain may seem like an easy way to get rid of it but that can lead to a big headache down the line.
We got some pictures showing examples of what your pipes look like if you pour oil or grease down the drain. It’ll clog your pipes eventually leading to a giant mess.
Plumber John Crawson said people usually have other family cooking at their house on Thanksgiving.
Crawson said even what you might buy at the store to unclog a sink, won’t really work to fully clean out the pipes.
“It really hard to unstop grease Drano is more for like a soft stoppage, like a little piece of paper or some little chunks of food or hair that may be stopping the lineup,” said Crawson.
The city of Waco suggests other option to dispose of fats, oils and grease.
“Let that grease cool, pour it into a coffee can or a box or something like that and then you can throw it away just in the trash or we do have five drop-off locations which are listed on our website where people can take those things to be recycled,” said Jessica Emmett-Sellers with the City of Waco.
If you do catch someone pouring grease down the drain this Thanksgiving you have one quick option to minimize the potential problem.
“You can turn on the hottest water you can get and just let it flow through that line for 10 to 15 minutes because that hot water actually keeps that grease from solidifying,” Crawson said.
The plumber also warns people not to dump full plates down the garbage disposal as that can cause a backup as well. He encourages people to take this precaution to dispose of grease and food properly to avoid needing a plumber that can cost thousands to fix.
