Fats, oils and grease
- Liquid fat cools in the pipe and sticks to the walls. Hot water and soap only move it a few feet further. Pour grease into a can or a jar, let it harden, then bin it. Paper-towel the pans before they go in the sink.
- Even a little salad dressing or butter adds up over time.
Coffee grounds and eggshells
- Coffee grounds do not dissolve. They settle in low spots and bind with grease. Eggshells break into gritty fragments that do the same. Both belong in the green bin, not down the drain or disposal.
- Disposals grind them, but the pieces still have to travel down the pipe.
Starches
- Rice, pasta and potato peels swell with water and turn into paste. A little rinsed off a plate is fine; a pot of rice water is not.
- Fibrous peels like celery and onion skins wrap around disposal blades and catch in pipes.
Quick checklist
- Grease in a can, not the drain
- Grounds and shells in the green bin
- Scrape plates into the garbage
- Skip caustic drain cleaners
- Hot water after dishes
Chemical cleaners
- Caustic drain cleaners eat into old metal traps and turn a later repair into a hazard. Enzyme products for upkeep are gentler. For a real clog, a cable is better than a chemical.
- Run hot water for a minute after washing dishes to keep the line moving.
Signs the line is coating up
- A kitchen sink that drains a little slower each month, gurgles when the dishwasher empties or smells sour is coating up inside. Catching it early with a professional cleaning is cheaper than waiting for a full back-up into the basement laundry tub.
- If you have a double sink, water rising in one bowl while the other drains is an early warning.
Richmond Hill note: most houses here sit on York Region municipal water with fairly hard supply, and many basements have a floor drain tied to the sanitary lateral. Mention both on the phone; it changes what goes on the truck.
Want a second opinion on your own pipes first? Dial (365) 363-1575; the person answering holds the wrench.