OK, so I’m one of those horrible people that pours grease down the sink (I only do this because last time I tried pouring it into a can I almost set the kitchen on fire and my girlfriend won’t let me pour it in the toilet). I run hot water for about a minute before and two minutes after pouring the grease.
My question is how long do I have to run the hot water to make sure that the grease clears the plumbing far enough that I don’thave to worry about clogging the pipes? The amounts of meat involved don’t exceed two pounds.
No matter how long you run the water, I’ll give you less than six months before you’re being scolded by a plumber who will present you with a very large bill to replace your pipes.
What size can were you pouring it into? Get a two-pound coffee tin, or a wax milk carton, and work on your aim.
According to the instructions on the garbage disposal we installed, you should let the grease cool, then pour it down, with the disposal on, with cold water.
I know, it made no sense to me either, but it seems to be ok. We’ve had the disposal in for 5 years on 2" galvanized pipe, with little or no problem.
(now the bathroom drain… That’s a whole other thread!)
I’ll take that bet. I’ve done it for more than 6 years in one house.
Note: I DO NOT think pouring grease down a drain is a good idea. Google it for a plethora of cites.
But I’m telling you–if you are (1) not on a septic system, and (2) mix the grease in the pan with a generous amount of dish soap and HOT water, then pour it down the drain, then let the hot water run a bit, you aren’t gong to need a plumber in 6 months. You are, however, just moving your problem down stream to your overburdened treatment plants, so give them a break and use a grease can.
That makes sense, picnurse. The problem with pouring hot grease down the drain is that it hits the pipes, cools, and solidifies. Over time the solid grease plugs the pipe.
If it’s already cold, then it isn’t going to become any more solid when it goes down the drain. The garbage disposal choppes it into little pieces, and you’d end up with essentially salad dressing going down the sink (an emulsion of fat in water).
Not to mention the sewer lines between your home and the treatment plant. Our regional plant is probably in excess of 25 miles from my home. There’s no way that grease will stay “melted” for that distance. The grease will settle out in the sewer main, and may cause a blockage which then will back raw sewage up into your house. Also, the sewer guys have to go down in the manholes and break up the grease & pump it out, which is more expense for the municipality. Please get a grease can. I’ll be happy to mail you a coffe can.
Huh. My mom did this for years at our old place and never had a problem. I have had a couple problems at our current place and that’s what brought up the thread.
I’d simply use a paper towel but this is for grease while I’m cooking meat (as mentioned in the OP). Draining all of the meat, spatula by spatula isn’t always possible (we most often cook ground beef).
Aside from me being an idiot and pouring the grease out into a standard tin can with the flame still going (hey, it was only once!), I had blocked out of my mind a most disturbing sight: my college roommate would collect all of the grease into a gallon pickle jar. Every now and then we’d eat these awful Italian sausages and there’d be layers of orange in there. He delighted in showing this to every guest.
Thank goodness my other roommate made us keep the airconditioner on in the summer.
Thanks for the information. I’ll have to locate a large can.
Here’s what I do: engage a large metal colander. Pour the cooked meat into it. Under the colander, I have set a plate. I’ve found that some meat run-off (if you will) settles into a bunch of water and a thin disc of fat. Scrub the fat off into the garbage can, the water you can pour down the drain. Voila! clean kitchen.
We once had a tenant who poured grease down the drain and, when it backed up the sink, poured in some lye drain cleaner. It made soap. The section of the pipe had to be removed and replaced.
Please do not put grease down the drain. Cover it with salt, and then dump it into the garbage.
I tend to save hard animal fats for re-use; there’s nothing quite like it for making roast potatoes - especially duck and goose fat.
Kind of off-topic and maybe a bit preachy, but if you’re not running a restaurant and you’re generating a huge volume of excess animal fat from cooking, I’d start to be concerned about the amount that isn’t draining out of the meat (i.e. it’s lining your arteries), but that’s just me.
If you can’t save it for cooking, like animal fats, and want to pour it down the drain, then mix it w/ dawn or other soap and use cold water. (hot water will cool off, the you are SOL)
