Now that most households have a dishwasher, rinsing dishes is no longer as common. Even still, tipping the wrong things down the drain can cause your drain to get clogged, leading to serious plumbing problems throughout your Brisbane home. What many homeowners don’t realise is that severe drain blockages don’t just affect your sinks. They can create backpressure that impacts your entire plumbing system, including your hot water system.
Many different items are tipped down the drain without a second thought, but understanding what should and shouldn’t go down your sink is crucial for preventing blockages and protecting all your plumbing systems. In this article, we’ll go through the most common items and whether they can be safely tipped down the drain, plus explain the broader consequences of drain blockages.
Table of Contents
List of what can’t be tipped down the sink:
- Coffee grounds
- Flour
- Yogurt
- Dairy
- Grease
- Fertiliser
- Paint
- Expandable foods
- Animal droppings
- Eggshells
- Produce Stickers
- Cotton balls
- Medication
- Plastics
- Oils
- Pesticides
- Non-biodegradable products
- Wet wipes
- Chemicals (generally)
- General food scraps (as much as possible)
What can be tipped down the sink:
Many items can be tipped down the sink. Here’s a list of some of the common liquids and solids that can be tipped down the sink.
- Vinegar
- Boiling water
- Ammonia (only when diluted with water)
- Baking soda
As you can see, the list of things that can’t get tipped down the drain is long, and that isn’t everything (although it includes the most common ones). We have seen many Brisbane houses with clogged drains due to tipping the wrong thing down. If you have been tipping any of the listed items down the sink, you should stop. Although it may not have caused an issue so far, you never know when it might. Unfortunately, it’s always at the wrong time that something does go wrong, so you should avoid “taking a chance” wherever possible.
Check out the detailed explanations below if you want to know why you can’t tip some items down the sink?
No. Coffee grounds can still stick to your pipes, causing blockages later on. Because of the myth that coffee grounds “clean pipes”, we frequently get called to houses with blocked pipes due to coffee. It is one of the most common reasons a sink gets clogged. The best way to get rid of coffee grounds is to decompose them in your compost, sprinkle them on your garden or seal them in a bag and put them in the bin.
No. Flour and any substance that expands when wet should not be tipped down the drain. Just think of what happens when you bake something, then leave the mixing bowl out for a few hours before washing it. The flour will be hard to scrape off. You don’t want flour acting as glue in your sink. Scrape flour and other similar substances into a bag before putting it in the bin.
Not really. Dairy products do not clog the drain; however, they can’t be easily broken down, affecting the oxygen level of the waterways. Disposing of dairy products in the sink can thus affect the aquatic life living inside. Every person doing the right thing when disposing of dairy will make a difference. To dispose of dairy correctly, decompose it in the garden.
NO! Grease is the most significant cause of clogged drains that we see. Even if grease is in liquid form, do not tip it down the sink. Grease, as well as other oils and fats, attached solid objects to your pipe. The correct method to dispose of grease is not widely known, leading to many mistakes. To properly dispose of grease or other fats and oils, freeze them in a jar before putting them in the bin.
How Drain Blockages Can Damage Your Hot Water System
Whilst most people understand that pouring grease and other inappropriate materials down the drain causes blockages, fewer realise that severe drain clogs can actually damage your hot water system. When drains become blocked, water backs up through your plumbing network, affecting not just cold water fixtures but also any appliance connected to your drainage system.
If you’ve had recurring drain blockages and notice your gas hot water system isn’t performing as it should, such as reduced hot water pressure, inconsistent temperatures, or strange noises, the drain issues may have caused collateral damage. In such cases, professional gas hot water systems repair brisbane services can assess and fix any damage caused by drainage problems, ensuring your system operates safely and efficiently.
Your hot water system drains wastewater from showers, washing machines, and sinks. When a major blockage prevents proper drainage, the backpressure can affect hot water system components, slow drainage from hot water taps, and in severe cases, cause damage to hot water pipes and connections. For gas hot water systems specifically, blocked drains can interfere with the condensate drainage line that removes moisture from the system, potentially leading to corrosion or component failure.
The Brisbane Plumbers can address both your drain blockages and any related hot water system issues in a single visit, providing comprehensive plumbing solutions that protect your entire home’s plumbing infrastructure.
Have you been tipping the wrong things down your sink? If so, it might be a good idea to get your pipe checked. We can use the latest CCTV technology to get footage inside your drains. That way, we know if there is a potential problem and can fix it straight away.
Once your pipes have been checked, you can start again from scratch with what you tip down the sink.
Book an inspection
If you would like to book an inspection in Brisbane, call the Brisbane Plumbers. We are Brisbane’s best emergency plumbers and have the team to handle any job. Our superior equipment and skills allow us to manage these jobs properly, the first time. Call us today on 1300 847 086.
