Things You Should Never (Ever) Put Down the Drain

Out of sight—out of mind. Putting unwanted stuff down the drain seems like a no-brainer. But in reality, you could be costing yourself—and the environment, big time. So, here are some things you should never, ever, put down the drain.

Grease

You’ve probably heard this one before; cooking grease should never be poured down the drain. Grease congeals (aka, goes hard) as it cools down. As the grease travels down your pipes, it will cool and stick to the sides, causing a gooey, nasty build-up of grime. In a similar fashion, oil and butter (including foods that contain oil and butter) shouldn’t go down the sink either. Instead, either soak the oil and grease with paper towel and dispose of it in the bin, or pour the melted grease into a sealable container.

Flour

Have you ever hand-washed a mixing bowl coated in flour? You probably found that the flour and water mixture stuck inside the bowl like cement. Guess what? This will happen in your drain too! So, be sure to chuck unwanted flour in the bin instead.

Food Scraps

Okay, so food scraps won’t necessarily harden and stick to your pipes (they might, though), but they still shouldn’t go down the drain. Why? Because they’ll stink. Household pipes have a heap of twists and bends in them, so the food won’t be washed away. Instead, it will gather in a bend and rot, stinking up your kitchen and your sink, pee-yew! Plus, why would you chuck your food scraps down the sink, when they can go in your compost bin instead?

Pasta and Rice

You know how pasta and rice expands when added to boiling water? Well, it will continue to expand when added to your drain, too. As water flows down your pipe and hits the pasta stuck in the bend (because it will get stuck in the bend), it will be absorbed by the pasta and rice, causing a big, bad, blockage. So, chuck leftover pasta/rice in your compost too.

Milk

You grab a carton of milk out of the fridge, only to find it full of clumps… yuck. It might be tempting to pour the sour, expired milk straight down the drain, but hold on a sec! Expired milk, (and fresh milk, for that matter), should never be poured into your drainage system.

In laymen’s terms, as milk breaks down it uses up a heap of oxygen, taking this oxygen out of the water and away from the living things that rely on it. If enough milk enters the environment, it can even decimate entire ecosystems. Don’t pour your milk down the sink folks.

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Things You Should Never (Ever) Put Down the Drain

Grease

Flour

Food Scraps

Pasta and Rice

Milk

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