Avoid Thanksgiving FOG: Keep fats, oils and grease out of drains
Some residents make the mistake of pouring cooking oils and grease down the kitchen sink or flushing it down the toilet. This is especially true during the holiday season when families may be frying turkeys or preparing other traditional foods that contain large amounts of FOGs.
“City Utilities spends more than an half million dollars a year cleaning grease out of our sewer lines,” says John Clark, City Utilities Deputy Director for Capital Asset Management. “When grease gets into the sewers it can harden and build up and can cause blockages in public sewer lines and even in home plumbing. Grease blockages can cause sewage to backup in homes and neighborhoods. These backups are unpleasant to deal with, smelly and can damage the environment. Ultimately damage caused by blocked pipes can inconvenience motorists if sewer must be dug up and repaired. It's better to keep the grease out of sewers in the first place.”
Although the terms “oil” and “grease” are often used interchangeably, they are different substances. rease is typically a solid white residue left in a pan after frying bacon or cooking other meats. Oil, such as vegetable oil, is typically a liquid at room temperature.
The popular trend of frying a whole turkey in an outdoor fryer for Thanksgiving can result in about 20 gallons of used cooking oil. If you are frying a turkey, City Utilities suggests letting the oil cool then putting it back into the container in which it was purchased. The oil can be refrigerated and reused, or the container can be sealed and placed in the trash for collection.
Fryer oil is not the only source of increased FOG going to sewers during the holidays. Many pre-prepared foods and food mixes contain some kind of fat, oil or grease. Salad dressings, butter, dairy products, even baked goods contain FOG. To keep FOG out of sewers, City Utilities suggests scraping all food scraps from pots, pans, cooking utensils and dishes into the trash before washing or rinsing dishes.