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AUSTIN (KXAN) – The holiday season leads to some people baking and cooking a little extra. There are some things that people should not thrown down the drains.
Elizabeth Simmons, Team Lead with the Take Care of Texas program, spoke with KXAN’s Rich Segal about how some fats, oils and greases can hurt your pipes because they, along with meat fats, butter and sauces solidify in drains, creating blockages in pipes. She suggests letting the items cool in sealed containers before throwing them out.
Coffee grounds are another source of irritation for the drains. While they may seem harmless, they can create a thick sludge. Coffee drinkers can use the grounds in gardens as compost or adding them to indoor plants as a natural fertilizer.
What’s more, if you want to be creative “you can use the coffee grounds as a natural exfoliant for your skin and face. You can rub them on your body during a shower to help remove built up dirt and grime. To make a coffee ground face mask, simply add a few drops of micellar water and stir until clumpy. Leave on for about 10 minutes, then gently rub and wash off with warm water.”
Simmons advised also to be careful of fruits and veggies you rinse down your drain. Some of the more fibrous vegetables have strings and fibers that can wrap around the garbage disposal unit or clog the pipes.
You can use some of these to make a fruit/vegetable stock. They will go well in your compost pile. You can also wrap them in the newspaper and put them in the trash. Don’t forget to have a sink strainer to help catch the fibers.
Tp keep your drains in good working order, Simmons recommended pouring a mix of a solution of one part vinegar and one part baking soda down the rain. Wait one hour, then pour hot water down the drain to flush the pipes. Do this on a regular basis to prevent back-ups and clogged pipes.
More information is available at TakeCareofTexas.org.
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