Grease and Your Kitchen Drain

How grease clogs a drain

Hot fat from pans, meat drippings and cooking oil flows down the drain easily. As it cools inside the pipe, it congeals on the walls. Food particles, coffee grounds and soap stick to it. Over months the opening narrows until the sink drains slowly, then stops. Dish soap and hot water move grease a little further along the pipe but do not remove it.

What to do with grease instead

• Let fat cool and harden in the pan, then scrape it into the garbage.
• Pour larger amounts of cooled oil into a sealed container for disposal.
• Before a greasy pan meets the dishwater, wipe it out with a paper towel; that towel can go in the green bin.
• Check York Region and City of Vaughan guidance for current rules on cooking oil disposal.

Other kitchen drain offenders

Coffee grounds, eggshells, rice and pasta (which swell), fibrous peels, and flour mixed with water all build up in pipes. A disposal grinds them small, but small particles still stick to grease. Our disposal page covers what a disposal handles.

Keeping the line clear

Use a sink strainer. Run hot water after washing up. Once a week, fill the sink with hot water and release it all at once; the volume pushes more through than a running tap. Avoid chemical drain openers, which can damage pipes and are dangerous when a plumber later opens the line.

Signs the clog is beyond DIY

Both sides of a double sink fill together. The dishwasher leaves water standing. Water backs up into the sink when the washing machine drains. These mean the clog is past the trap and needs a cable or jetting. See kitchen drain cleaning and hydro jetting.