Ten Things That Shouldn't Go Down The Drain
Time magazine tells us of things that shouldn't be disposed of by pouring, or putting, them down the drain. I didn't see anything we put down the drain, but it's especially important in our house and the kitchen drain is naturally slow due to its old fashioned design and a pipe below the sink that is almost level for a couple feet causing slow drainage in even the best of times.
Apologies for the Time magazine web page. As with pretty much all magazine web sites, it's poorly designed, slow to load and often difficult to read.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:44 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Level pipes under sinks don't cause slow drainage, but an undersized pipe allows less air to aide in flow and a plugged pipe creates turbulence which decreases flows.
One product not to put down drain is marijuana water pipe tar.
Thanks for the helpful tips, Fred.
We're pretty careful about what goes down the drain now. Unfortunately, the wife kept insisting on throwing the pound of broccoli stems into the garbage disposal even though the garbage can was only a foot away. That clogged big time and it took a plumber's snake to remove the broccoli bits o' blockage that occurred further down the line. Jeez. A little common sense and an ounce of prevention goes a long ways, donch'ya think?.
Then it was my turn to shine. I used a drain cleaner which was nontoxic with special bacteria and enzymes that break up the grease, oil, and food bits. It came recommended by a friend and I'll give it a try as a preventative measure, I thought.
It worked so well that I was impressed looking into the sink drain and seeing the shiny blades of the disposal for the first time. Then it happened. The entire garbage disposal started leaking below the sink. The bacteria and enzyme stuff had worked so well it ate all the grease and gunk around the seals of the old garbage disposal and it leaked like a sieve. We had to get a new disposal.
Another time my sister flushed her tampon and pad down the toilet. It got caught in the p-trap, overflowed, and flooded the bathroom. A plunger took care of it before cleaning everything else up off the floor.
I find just being careful is the best way to keep the plumber and his expenses away. Think of it like poker: a royal flush beats a full house.
" the wife kept insisting on throwing the pound of broccoli stems into the garbage disposal even though the garbage can was only a foot away."
Organic matter like that should never be sent down plumbing since it's easily recycled with even a small compost pile. We have one of those manufactured plastic square bins maybe 12 feet from our back door. Vegetable debris is thrown into a small plastic container. Once it's full we dump the container in the compost bin.
Fred, are you rat free?
Compost bins attract rats galore.
Also, coons, possums and skunks.
How about a 21st Century bio fusion energy bin......Waste goes in, energy and ashes produced......Ashes then get spread around garden to keep off the snails, slugs, grubs, etc....
"Fred, are you rat free?"
Nope. I have an ongoing campaign of poisoning the rats that seem to infest this house.
We have skunks and possums, too, but I've never seen them near the compost piles. They're usually outside the back door eating the sunflower seeds that fall from the bird feeder.
Something's been eating the rat poison I've been putting under the house and, whatever it is, keeps coming back. I put bait out every day. In the morning, the bait is gone so I replace it. Not sure what's going on with that. Maybe a skunk is eating it and isn't affected by it?
They take it to the nest, Fred.
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