Latest news with #grease
CNET
07-06-2025
- General
- CNET
9 Sneaky Household Items That Actually Clog Your Drains
As a proud new homeowner, I've learned the hard way about what not to pour down my drains. There are obvious drain-cloggers you should avoid disposing of in the kitchen or bathroom sink. But what about the sneakier culprits that aren't always mentioned until it's too late? Hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes and avoid clogged drains. The goal of this article is to rid you of the headache of cleaning up a mess or, even worse, having to resort to an expensive plumber. I adamantly suggest you never pour these nine common household items down the drain. However, accidents happen, so I also provide tips on how to conquer water that starts to backup in your sink. 9 household items that will clog your drain Vegetable peels Carrot, potato and other vegetable peels may fit down the drain but that's about the worst place you can put them. That organic refuse will cause backups and clogged drains faster than you can say "compost pile." Speaking of which, a compost pile or organic waste processor is exactly where those materials should go. Here's how to start a compost pile if you're new to the game. Oil and grease Bacon fat shouldn't be poured down the sink, but it can be saved and used in your next recipe. Talisman Oil and grease are two of the most common drain-clogging substances. Large amounts of cooking oil left in the skillet or a mound of leftover bacon fat from breakfast are surefire ways to build up gunk in your kitchen pipes over time. Oil should be fully cooled and placed in a sealed receptacle before being tossed. Pork fat and bacon grease can be used to flavor your next recipe or season a cast-iron skillet. Read more: 8 Ways to Use Leftover Bacon Fat Oil-based foods: Salad dressing, mayo, marinades, chili crisp Try to avoid putting large amounts of mayo or salad dressing down the kitchen drain. MemoriesThe same goes for oily foods including salad dressing, mayonnaise, marinades and more. A small spot of mayonnaise may not cause an issue, but dumping a whole bottle of past-its-prime balsamic dressing or teriyaki marinade could cause problems. Heavily oil-based foods can't be composted and should be tossed in the garbage. Coffee grounds Coffee grounds can be composted but they shouldn't go in the sink. Chris Monroe/CNET If you make a pot of coffee every morning, disposing of the grounds is just part of the routine. Coffee grounds can be composted, but they should not go down the drain. Over time, coffee grounds will build up in the pipes and cause a backup. If you don't have one, consider starting a compost pile to keep food scraps from ending up in the sink and garbage. Use this helpful trick to avoid that compost pile stench in your kitchen. Or add a countertop food scrap processor like the Lomi or Mill Bin if composting isn't in the cards. Flour Extra flour should be composted or thrown away. iStockphoto/Getty Images If you've seen what happens to flour when it mixes with water, you know why it's not a good idea to pour it down the drain. Imagine a dense bread dough trying to make its way through your pipes. Not pretty. If you have leftover flour from a baking project or a recipe, you should compost it or else throw it away. Dirt and soil Fight the urge to flush excess potting soil down the kitchen drain. Justin Tech/CNET I'm admittedly guilty of this one. The kitchen sink seems like the perfect place to transfer an indoor plant from pot to pot, but soil and other dirt types can very easily clog your drain. If you can do it without letting more than a few granules down the sink, you'll probably be OK. If heaps of potting are involved, you'd be wise to take the project outside. Rice and pasta Be it cooked or uncooked, rice does not belong in your pipes. Compost it instead. Brian Bennett/CNET Unless you have a garbage disposal, no food scraps should be going down the drain. Rice and small pasta are especially tricky since they can sneak past your drain guard and end up in pipes they shouldn't be. To stop a starch-based clog before it happens, discard leftover grains and pasta in the compost pile or trash bin if you're not composting. Paper products Paper products, no matter how thin, do not go down the kitchen drain. Angela Lang/CNET There are no paper products that should go down the drain, even those made from thin compostable. Certain kitchen products like plates, bowls and napkins can be composted, but check carefully before adding them to your kitchen pile or smart kitchen bin. Otherwise, they should be tossed. Paint Oil-based paint is about the worst thing you could pour down the kitchen sink. Try mixing it with kitty litter until it dries before disposing of it.I've been guilty of this one, too but it's time to break the habit. Because paint is liquid, it might seem like a candidate for the kitchen sink but it's not. Paint adheres to pipes and if it dries, it becomes a serious plumbing problem. One genius hack for disposing of old paint: kitty litter. Mix some litter with the old paint can until it turns solid and toss it in the garbage. Check with your local sanitation service for certified disposal facilities for oil-based paints. How to unclog a drain with household items Is there anything baking soda and vinegar can't do? Angela Lang/CNET If your drain does clog, try a combination of vinegar, baking soda and boiling water water. There are many reports from LifeProTips and Lifehacks Reddit threads of this quick fix saving homeowners in a pinch. There are also chemical drain cleaners to help get things moving -- although a plumber we spoke to told us why you should be cautious with chemical drain cleaners. To stop food and solids from getting into the kitchen drain, a $10 sink strainer will save you grief later on. Most important is knowing which foods and household materials to keep out of the kitchen sink and avoid a clogged pipe catastrophe in the first place. FAQ
Associated Press
02-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Grease Trap Cleaning Protects NYC Facilities from Fire and Environmental Hazards
In New York City's bustling hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, and commercial kitchens, a silent danger lurks overhead and underground: built-up grease. BROOKLYN, NY, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2025 / / -- In New York City's bustling hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, and commercial kitchens, a silent danger lurks overhead and underground: built-up grease. What looks like harmless residue in a kitchen exhaust hood or grease trap can ignite into a dangerous blaze or clog the city's sewer pipes. Industry experts say routine restaurant grease cleaning services and grease trap cleaning NYC aren't just a suggestion – they're a public safety mandate. As one seasoned kitchen manager put it, 'If you skimp on these cleanings, that grease is gonna bite you back sooner or later.' Even chefs who talk a mile a minute will tell you: grease cleanup is a matter of life and fire-safety. In every critical facility from a Manhattan hospital cafeteria to a Bronx diner, the rule is the same: keep the grease moving out, not settled in. In the South, folks might fuss over grandma's gravy recipe, but here in NYC, letting fat and oil pool anywhere in the kitchen is unthinkable. Neglected grease traps and dirty exhaust hoods can transform a routine cooking day into an inferno. According to fire safety standards (NFPA 96), vaporized grease in ductwork will eventually solidify and become 'an inevitable fire hazard'. Filta Kleen 's general manager Tony Marino warns bluntly, 'It's like having a campfire in your kitchen. You gotta clean that hood every quarter, or you'll see flames before you know it.' In short: kitchen ventilation safety is non-negotiable. When even a stray spark meets congealed fat on a hood or fan, the fire can spread faster than oil in a skillet – turning a commercial hood into a missile launcher for flames. City fire codes make no exceptions. All commercial cooking systems in New York must be designed and maintained to prevent grease buildup. Filta Kleen crews know this well: they're FDNY-certified and clean to the letter of NFPA 96 standards. 'Y'see an old hood covered in grease, it's just dumb luck if nothing goes wrong,' Marino adds. In fact, cooking is a leading cause of urban fires. Every year inspectors find kitchens with clogged filters or missing clean-out doors – little invites to catastrophe. A frontline firefighter once remarked that a greasy, unclean hood is the best friend a fire could have. That's why commercial hood installation must be done right the first time. Filta Kleen even fabricates new exhaust hoods that meet NFPA 96 standards, so eateries and hospitals start off with proper ventilation that vents heat and smoke safely outside. When hoods, fans and ductwork are properly installed and cleaned regularly, kitchens run cooler, cooks breathe easier, and the risk of an explosive grease fire drops dramatically. Beyond safety, New York's health and building codes are relentless about grease. City rules require that grease interceptors (traps) be maintained in good working order with routine cleanings so trapped fat never exceeds 25% of the tank. In practice that means restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes must pump out or service their grease traps often – typically every 30 to 90 days depending on volume. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection makes this clear: every food-service facility must install and regularly clean grease interceptors, or face fines. Even the Health Department's inspector checklist calls for grease traps to be 'clean and well maintained'– no excuses. Non-compliance can shut a kitchen down. 'One little overlook,' says Marino, 'and the next thing you know, the DOH or FDNY is walkin' in with a citation.' Certified technicians are the only answer. Filta Kleen's crews carry the city's Certificate of Fitness for hood cleaning, proof that each job meets FDNY and NFPA standards. They log their work, tag each unit, and give customers a report. 'When inspectors check, they want that clean!,' Marino notes. 'If your hood looks shiny and your records are on point, you're staying open. If not, forget about it.' Envirogreen's Lisa Patel echoes the sentiment. 'We tell clients: treat this like surgery for your kitchen. Only pros should handle the dirty work. You want those official decals and logs on the wall.' In short, kitchen ventilation safety isn't a DIY weekend project. It requires licensed plumbers for trap installation, FDNY-certified cleaning crews, and strict scheduling so every hospital cafeteria or school kitchen sails smoothly through inspections. The stakes extend far beyond fire codes. Improper grease disposal can choke New York's infrastructure. City officials confirm that fats, oils, and grease (FOG) are responsible for roughly 60% of sewer backups. When a trap overflows or someone pours fat down the drain, that grease doesn't vanish – it coagulates into 'fatbergs' that can clog miles of pipe. The result? Raw sewage spills into basements, streets and rivers, threatening public health. New Yorkers have seen it: neighborhoods with foul odors, rats in alleys, and storm drains coated in greasy slime. The NYC DEP sternly warns, 'If fat, oil and grease enter the sewers, lines clog and sewage back up into basements of homes and restaurants. The entire community suffers'. On the flip side, cleaned grease has value. The city has even launched pilots to turn trap grease into renewable energy. 'We're sitting on a goldmine of green energy here,' says Lisa Patel of Envirogreen. 'But you gotta capture it first – not flush it into the river.' Envirogreen partners with restaurants and hospitals to collect used cooking oil and wasted grease. Patel jokes, 'I always tell folks, don't be that guy who dumps a gallon of grease down the sink. We'll pick it up, and maybe one day your fried chicken oil will power a bus instead of a clogged manhole.' The upshot: grease trap cleaning NYC isn't just a fine-avoidance trick, it's responsible stewardship. Each trap cleaned keeps waterways cleaner and can even reduce a facility's carbon footprint. Providers on the ground underscore one message: don't wait for disaster to strike. Filta Kleen's Tony Marino offers this straight talk: 'We're runnin' kitchens like you wouldn't believe – in hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants. Y'all can't be playin' games with grease. Keep it clean, log it, and your kitchen stays cookin'.' Envirogreen's Lisa Patel adds a New Yorker's blunt wisdom: 'Don't be cheap about it. Think of that grease trap like a savings account for your building's safety. Skip a withdrawal and you'll pay double in fires or fixes. We see it all – a neglected trap, then bam, next thing you got fire engines or flooded cellars. Clean it now, save yourself the headache later.' In a conversational Southern tone one might hear in the back of a New York bodega, she continues, 'Hey, I get it – kitchens are busy and budgets are tight. But this is one expense you can't dodge. Keep those experts in on schedule and make sure that grease goes out the door, not down the drain.' Across New York City, the story is the same. From fast-food diners in Harlem to the largest hospital kitchens in Brooklyn, maintaining kitchen ventilation safety and clean grease traps is essential. Certified cleaning and proper commercial hood installation prevent fires, ensure regulatory compliance, and protect the city's environment. As Marino sums up, 'A clean kitchen is a safe kitchen. It's just that simple.' Restaurant owners and facility managers are taking note: routine deep-cleans, FDNY-certified hood cleaning teams, and professional grease trap service are now as standard as the day's first flame. The bottom line is universal – in NYC, glossing over grease isn't an option. By investing in expert grease management today, New York's critical facilities keep their doors open, their people safe, and the city's sewers flowing smoothly. Gabriel Jean Filta Kleen Co. +1 7184954747 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
