Household Ingredients That Are the Likely Culprits of Your Blocked Kitchen Drain
Although blocked drains are a nuisance the moment your house is plagued by them, arguably, blocked kitchen drains can be doubly frustrating. When your kitchen drain is not functioning it can make the most menial of chores, such as washing dishes, seem like a herculean task simply because you would not want to contend with stagnant, murky water in the sink.
However, even while a majority of homeowners dread this menace in their homes, the reality is that a major reason why your kitchen drain, in particular, is at risk of blockages is due to your negligence. Admittedly, food debris and other particles will gradually find their way into the sink and eventually into the drain. Nonetheless, to minimise the frequency at which this happens, here are household ingredients to be wary of that are the likely culprits of your blocked kitchen drain.
Fats and oils
As a rule of thumb, anything greasy should never go down your kitchen sink, or any other sink for that matter. A misassumption many homeowners have is that pouring down some used oil will not be an issue as long as they follow it up with hot water, but this is grossly incorrect. What you need to know about fats and oils is that these compounds function as binders for a vast range of other materials. Thus, as they collect farther down in your drainage hardware, they form a sticky residue that catches all other debris that drains down the kitchen sink!
So what may start as foul odour emanating from the hardware will quickly transform into a full-blown blockage as more and more particles accumulate in the drain. Take note, oils that coagulate at room temperature and lower, for example, coconut oil, pose a higher risk to your kitchen drainage since not only do they harden within the piping but can form an obstruction that will not allow even water to permeate.
Honey
If you have made a shift towards a healthier lifestyle and have decided to either minimise or stop the ingestion of processed sugar in your household, honey is likely an ingredient that you utilise daily. But while this substance is good for your health, it by no means makes it safe for your plumbing hardware. For starters, honey is incredibly sticky. The moment that it goes down your drains, it immediately adheres onto the interior lining of your plumbing pipes.
And just like fats and oils, the sticky nature of honey will easily trap small particles, such as coffee grounds, facilitating the formation of multiple clogs in the hardware. Another danger of honey is that it crystallizes, forming rock hard clogs within the plumbing! To avoid all this, you mustn't pour remnants of honey-sweetened beverages into the sink.
If you are dealing with a blocked drain, call a plumber for help.