If your sink is overflowing or has stopped draining, there could be a clogged drain due to grease. This is actually a very common problem. But dealing with it can be easy or it can also be quite frustrating.
Grease is one of the nastiest things you can deal with in regards to drains, but luckily there are solutions. When grease gets stuck it becomes smelly and unhygienic fast which can lead people not want anything near them for fear they’ll get sick too!
In this article we’ll go over some solutions to degreasing your kitchen drain pipes. We’ll go over some commercial cleaners as well as some homemade solutions too.
What Does Grease Do To Your Kitchen Drain Pipes?
Most of us think of grease as liquid and assume it’s okay to put down the kitchen drain or garbage disposal. But – we would be wrong.
In general, drains and disposals CAN handle liquids but grease doesn’t always stay in liquid form. Once it cools, it solidifies to some extent. And that is when the problems begin.
This solid block of grease can create a clog that can cause backups, pipe bursts, leaks and other problems.
2 Warnings About Mixing Commercial Drain Cleaners and Homemade
- If you use a commercial drain cleaner, never ever add baking soda or washing soda to the drain as well. These products react negatively together.
- If you have PVC pipes, know that washing soda can deteriorate those pipes if you use too much of it. It’s safe to use once a month but more than that i not recommended.
What Are The Best Drain Cleaners For Grease?
We generally warn our customers to be careful when using commercial drain cleaners because they contain harsh chemicals and can be harmful to your plumbing, depending on the type of plumbing that you have.
To learn about this read our article on Are Drain Cleaners Safe?
Otherwise – we can recommend some commercial drain cleaners, which are:
- CLR Calcium, Lime and Rust Remover
- Seventh Generation Dish Liquid
- Bissell Advanced Professional Spot and Stain
- Seventh Generation All Purpose Natural Cleaner
Homemade Degreaser Solutions
There are multiple solutions that you can put together using common household products that can work to remove the grease from your kitchen drain.
Hot Water and White Vinegar
Mix a 1:1 ratio of hot water and white vinegar. Pour this mixture down the drain. Wait about 5 minutes and then pour more hot water (just hot water) down the drain.
Repeat this process of needed.
Baking Soda and White Vinegar
Gather 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of white vinegar.
In an empty sink, put the baking soda down the drain followed by the vinegar. Plug the drain and wait at least an hour. Unplug the drain and pour a large pot of boiling water down the drain.
Salt and Baking Soda
Mix 1/2 cup of course salt and 1/2 cup baking soda together. Pour this mixture down the drain and follow it with 6 cups of hot boiling water.
Do not use the drain for 8 hours after which you can flush the drain with tap water.
After Any Of These Solutions
Follow any of these solutions with 1/2 cup of liquid detergent mixed with 5 cups of hot boiling water.
Note: Make sure that the liquid detergent has grease dissolving features.
Pour this mixture down the drain.
If any of these solutions do not work for you then we recommend that you contact your plumber immediately to correct the problem.
They may be able to use hydro jetting to clean out your kitchen drain.
Does Vinegar Really Dissolve Grease?
No, white vinegar doesn’t really dissolve grease, but it certainly softens it so that it can be moved along or extracted from the pipes.
How Do You Dissolve Hardened Grease?
If the grease has been in your kitchen drain for a length of time and it is now hardened and you are unable to remove it with any of the solutions mentioned above – the best solution is to contact a professional plumber.
That person will be able to use professional tools that can remove the grease without damaging your pipes.
Prevent Kitchen Drain Clogs
Of course, you want to prevent kitchen drain clogs so that you don’t have to deal with this problem so here are some tips on how to do that.
- Pour 1 cup of baking soda into your kitchen drain on a monthly basis. Let it sit for about an hour and then flush it with tap water.
- Pour 1 cup of washing soda into your kitchen drain. Let it sit for about an hour and then flush it with tap water. Do this monthly.
- Never pour grease down your kitchen drain or garbage disposal.
If you have any questions about your main water line or are having some problems with it, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-443-8229. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.