What is FOG?
FOG refers specifically to fats, oils and grease entering the sewer system when poured down drains in homes, apartments, restaurants, industries, and public facilities.
Fats don’t dissolve in water. Washing fats down the drain with hot water may seem effective, but as the water cools, the fats and grease harden in sewer pipes. Detergents dissolve fat enough to clean your dishes or laundry, but not enough to keep it from congealing in the sewer.
Much like too much fat in your diet can cause clogged arteries, the result of many households washing fats down their drains can also be disastrous.
Why Should FOG Matter to You
When washing down a sink or drain, FOG builds up over time and can cause a blockage in your drains, pipes and in sanitary sewers.
Cost: Blockages lead to increased costs to maintain private plumbing, our sewers, the wastewater treatment plant and public and private property.
Neighborhood: Plumbing and sewer backups can result in property damage and various code violations. These backups can also create hazardous and unhealthy conditions.
Environment: Clogged sewers can cause raw sewage overflows and backups. Accumulation of FOG reduces the capacity of the wastewater collection system which can contribute to occurrences of combined sewer overflows. Sewer overflows make waterways unsafe for recreation, and they threaten the fish and other aquatic life that live in our rivers and streams.
Quality of Life: Sewer backups and clogs attract insects and vermin, resulting in undesirable and unhealthy living conditions.streams.
What Can I do to Help Prevent FOG Damage?
The easiest way to solve the FOG problem and help prevent overflows of raw sewage is to keep this material out of the sewer system. Through education and by adopting certain habits, it is easy to minimize FOG sources at home.
Tips to keep your drains FOG free:
Pour cooled fats, oils and grease into a container and put the container in the trash. If you don’t have a container, place tin foil into a coffee cup or similar, add FOG, allow to cool, and then dispose.
Before washing, use a paper napkin or paper towel to wipe FOG from dishes and dispose of it in the trash.
Use sink strainers to catch food waste.
Put food scraps in the trash, not through the garbage disposal.
