Fat, oil and grease from your turkey could turn a dream Christmas dinner into a nightmare, Wessex Water is warning residents across Bath.
Pouring leftover grease or gravy down the drain might seem like a good idea, but it solidifies in pipes when cooled and can cause blockages, with sewage even ending up in people’s homes as a result.
To help avoid spending Christmas Day searching for an emergency plumber, Wessex Water is urging customers to follow three simple steps to stay blockage free in the kitchen.
- Scrape cooking fat, oil and grease into a container with a lid and put it in the fridge overnight. Then dispose of it in the food bin.
- Alternatively, wipe liquid leftovers from pots and pans with kitchen towel and dispose of it in the household waste bin.
- Catch other food waste – even tiny bits of leftover Brussels sprouts – in a sink strainer to prevent it going down the plughole.
Wessex Water clears around 13,000 blockages from the public sewers every year, while many thousands more occur on private drains.
The majority of these are caused either by solidified cooking waste or people wrongly flushing wet wipes and other plastic-based bathroom products down the toilet.
The combination of both can lead to monster fatbergs in sewers.
If you are unfortunate enough to suffer a blockage in your home, Wessex Water can help to clear it or you could choose to use a drainage contractor.
Always ensure a private contractor is reputable and request a written quote in advance of any work being carried out.
For more information about how to avoid blockages, visit wessexwater.co.uk/binit.
