Don’t let the Roast of Christmas Past clog your drains

When you are cooking your Christmas feast this year, and the food coma is threatening to descend, ensuring the kitchen gets a proper cleanup will probably be the last thing on your mind. Chances are you’ve been cooking since daybreak, so throwing everything down the kitchen sink or into the dishwasher may be very tempting.

However, taking a minute to dispose of the oil and fat from your cooking correctly could save you from a boxing day blocked drain and an emergency plumber call these holidays.

What happens to oil when you pour it down the drain?

You’ll be disappointed to find out it often doesn’t go far.

It can quickly adhere to the sides of your household drain pipes creating a sticky surface onto which any food scraps, toilet paper, or other debris which are washed, flushed, or swept down the drain catches.

Over time all this oily gunk builds up, eventually creating a blockage big enough to fully clog the drain. Cue the call to your local drain plumber.

What is the right way to dispose of cooking oil?

Keeping cooling oil and fat out of your drains is actually really easy.

Simply allow the oil/fat to cool a bit in the pan after you’ve finished cooking. Then carefully pour it into an old container with a lid, an old jam jar is ideal as it can be sealed to prevent the oil from spilling.

The jar or container can be kept in your fridge until full or disposed of in your rubbish bin when fully cooled.

Don’t forget to pre-wipe your frying pan or pot with a paper towel to remove the last of the oil as well as any food scraps to prevent them from ending up stuck to the inside of your drains.

Some cooking oils and fat can be reused if they are not too dirty which is great for the environment and the food budget.

Hot tip – take your roast potatoes to the next deliciously crispy level by cooking them in the fat from last week’s roast. (Ensure fat is stored in the fridge.)

To help prevent blocked drains at your house other substances you should definitely not be pouring down the drains include:

• Grease and fat
• Corrosive chemicals
• Motor oil
• Sludge
• Vegetable and fruit peel and other food scraps
• Chemical waste
• Old paint

If you do need help with a blocked drain or any other plumbing problem over the holidays, the Fallon Solutions plumbing team is on call 24/7 in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Logan, and Sunshine Coast.