A little grease can cause big problems! Grease can enter the sewer system at virtually any point, including your kitchen sink. You might think that it can't do any harm to allow a small amount of grease to go down the drain as you're cleaning up, especially if you rinse with very hot water. But hot water cools quickly, and so does hot grease. When it cools, it solidifies.

Imagine that tiny amount of grease that slips down your drain multiplied several thousand times by all the sanitary sewer customers solidifying as it cools, sticking to the insides of sewer pipes, and trapping food particles and all kinds of other debris in the wastewater. Over time, this messy mass can grow until the flow of water is obstructed and sewage begins to back up.

Items Containing Grease
Grease is a byproduct of everyday cooking and can be found in such items as:

• Baking goods
• Butter and margarine
• Cooking oil
• Dairy Products
• Food scraps
• Lard
• Meat Fats
• Sauces
• Shortening

Garbage Disposals
Home garbage disposals do not prohibit grease from flowing into the sewer system. Disposals simply shred solid material into smaller pieces. Commercial additives, including detergents that claim to dissolve grease, may pass grease down the line and cause problems in other areas. The results of a grease blocked sewer pipe can be:

• An expensive and unpleasant cleanup that often must be paid for by you, the homeowner
• An increase in operation and maintenance costs the city sewer department, which causes higher sewer bills for customers
• Potential contact with disease-causing organisms
• Raw sewage overflowing in your home or your neighbor's home

Prevention
Here are a few steps you can take to help prevent this problem:

• Do not put dairy products, fats, oil, grease, or greasy foods down the garbage disposal or drain
• Freeze small amounts of fats, oils, and grease in a lidded container and dispose in a trash receptacle
• Mix small amounts of cooking oil with an absorbent material such as cat litter or coffee grounds, place it in a lidded container, and dispose of it in a trash receptacle
• Wipe additional grease from pots, pans, and plates with a paper towel before placing them in the sink or dishwasher