Fats, Oils and Grease (FOGs) can cause serious problems in your home's sewer system. FOGs can build up in the sewer system pipes and create blockages. This stops wastewater flow, causing sewer backups that can damage your home.
Where do these come from?
FOGs are a result of cooking food such as meat, cooking oil, lard, butter, margarine, salad dressings, shortening and dairy products.
What happens when FOGs aren't disposed of properly?
FOGs are often washed down the kitchen sink because they are in liquid form. Although it appears they are gone once they go down the drain, these products stick to the sides of the pipes. As these liquids cool and solidify, they cause solid blockages in both residential and City-owned pipes. The blockages stops the flow of wastewater from your house and cause sewer failures.
FOGs also have an impact on our wastewater treatment. These liquids pollute our wastewater, making the treatment of water more costly.
How can I prevent these from entering the sewer system?
- Cooking oil is recyclable. Drop off the used cooking oil at RecyclAbility Enterprises on Ball Road.
- NEVER pour grease or cooking oil down the sink or toilet. Pour the fat and grease into a container until they are cool and solidified. Then later discard these solidified fat and grease into the garbage.
- Wipe off any excess FOG residue with paper towel and place it in garbage before washing.
- Use a strainer in your kitchen sink to catch food scraps before they go down the drain.
- Do not pour FOGs down garburators. These units will not prevent these substances from going down the drain.
- Hot water and detergents that claim to dissolve grease only move the grease further down the line where it can cause problems in another area of the sewer system.