There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned myth to pique the imagination. Our friendly Atascadero plumbers are putting on their truth-seeker hats for this blog busting three common plumbing myths. Who knows how they get started, but they can spread like wildfire. If nothing else, they’re good for entertainment value and the occasional debate over their truth.
Myths come in all forms, and you guessed it, there are plenty of plumbing myths to go around.
In this case, it might just save you a clogged sink or an overflowing toilet.
1. Hot Grease Slides Right Down the Drain
You just got done cooking some tasty bacon for breakfast, and there’s an inch of grease left in the pan. What to do with it? Pouring it down the drain seems so easy, right? It’s still liquid afterall and will slide right down the drain without doing much damage.
Wrong. Despite the myth, even hot grease sticks to the inside of your pipes and attracts other residue that can eventually cause a clog.
Instead, wait for the grease to cool and wipe it up with a paper towel and toss it into the trash. Or, pour it in a tin or empty soda can and trash that. Better yet, do what grandma did and save the tin of grease for other cooking purposes – and that’s no myth.
2. Lemon Freshen up the Garbage Disposal
Sure, putting a few lemon or orange rinds down the kitchen sink and grinding them up in the garbage disposal might result in a lemony scent wafting from your drain. But the truth is, they don’t belong in your garbage disposal. Their fibrous rinds aren’t easy to grind up for even the most heavy-duty disposal and can build over time to foul the mechanics of the disposal or create clogs down the line.
A better way to keep your garbage disposal smelling great and working well is to occasionally pour a mixture of vinegar and water into the disposal.
3. Flushable Wipes are Septic-safe
Sure, the packaging on some sanitary wipes may say “flushable,” but that doesn’t make it true. And this is one myth that is bound to leave you with a miserable mess. You should never flush “flushable” wipes or sanitary products in your toilet because they frequently cause build-ups and clogs even if they seemingly go down easily.
Plumbing pros routinely run into the results of this myth, which can be a build-up of wipes in your septic tank that never disintegrated – gross. That result is magnified in municipal sewer systems. So, just like the grease and citrus peels, “flushable” wipes belong in the garbage, not your plumbing system.
Want to learn more about what plumbing “myths” are true and which ones aren’t? Or if you’ve fallen for a myth and have a plumbing problem for the pros, contact the friendly “myth-busting” Atascadero plumbers at Griffin. We’re always a call or click away.