By Lockwood Wernet
Have you ever heard those words before? Maybe you heard it at a relative’s house that was on a septic tank or they had old plumbing; possibly you heard it while traveling to another country; or you may have seen it on a sign in a public restroom. There is good reason for the warning because not all waste should be thrown down the drain.
In recent years, Destin Water Users has talked about FOG, Fats Oils and Grease, and how pouring that down the drain can contribute to sewer backups. When FOG is washed down the sink, it cools and sticks to the inside lining of sewer pipes. The accumulation of this grease can cause clogs in the sewer pipes, which may lead to Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs). We’ve seen FOG accumulate on equipment in our lift stations and it has caused upsets at the plant, disrupting the treatment process.
We urge you to put your sewer lines on a fat-free diet and be careful when disposing of fats, oils, and grease (FOG) after cooking by never pouring FOG down the sink or toilet. To keep FOG out of sewers, scrape all food scraps from pots, pans, cooking utensils and dishes into the trash before washing or rinsing the dishes and we reinforced this message with posts to our Facebook page explaining how to dispose of FOG.
We want to reinforce this message because we are still seeing lots of FOG in our system. This is disconcerting because, we have implemented a grease trap inspection program for commercial food establishments and as they are complying, we are seeing concentrations of FOG coming from our single-family and multi-family residential areas; therefore, we need your help to eliminate our FOG problem.
Dairy products contain milk fat that is considered FOG. Salad dressings usually contain some oil content. What do you do with the greasy liquid left over after broiling a chicken breast, pork chop, fish or steak? These items along with many prepared foods contain FOG that can contribute to a grease backup in the sewer line.
Other things that should never be put down the drain are non-dispersible or non-flushable items such as feminine hygiene products, personal hygiene wipes, single-use floor mop pads, dental floss, single use toilet cleaning pads, protective undergarments, anti-bacterial surface cleaning wipes, paper towels and other similar products.
They don’t break down when they are flushed down the drain. Unlike toilet paper which is designed to breakdown and disperse in the waste stream, these items are not readily degradable. To make it even more confusing, many of these items are labeled as flushable because they pass through the domestic toilet and drainage-line system and they can be transported by the wastewater conveying system; however, they are not truly compatible with the wastewater treatment system.
What happens with these fibrous products is they get twisted and torn into long, knotted rope-like systems that look like rags or your traditional rope mop. These rags get caught on the impellors of pumps in our lift stations and at the plant decreasing the efficiency of the operation of the pumps. Typically, the rags gradually build up on the impellors of a pump until the pump stops working. The majority of all pump failures in our system is directly caused by non-dispersible and non-flushable items.
Now this problem is not unique to DWU; it is universally experienced wherever these products are sold. The wastewater industry in trying to work with manufacturers of these products to address this problem, but we need some help from you our customers. Therefore, we ask that you: Don’t put that down the drain!
Helpful Hints for FOG:
• Never pour FOG down the drain, sink or garbage disposal.
• Pour FOG into jars, cans, and plastic tubs. Let contents cool and solidify. When the container is full, throw it away with your trash.
• Mix cooking oil with an absorbent material such as cat litter or coffee grounds, place in a container (lid securely fastened) for disposal with your trash.
• For greasy pans, pour off the grease into a container, and use a paper towel to wipe out the remaining grease in the pan prior to washing.
• Store the container in the freezer, which will keep the grease solid, and pull it out whenever you have fats, oils and grease to dispose of. When it gets full, dump the whole container into the trash.
Things to Never Put Down the Drain:
• Paper towels
• Cotton balls
• Rags
• Chewing gum
• Dental floss
• Paint
• Plastic or rubber items
• Flushable wipes
• Feminine products
• Q-tips
• Toys
• Unused medications
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