Idiot husband poured fat down the sink

[FatBurger]

DH accidentally (genuine accident) poured a pan of fat, approximately a litre, down the sink. It was only after he'd poured a significant amount that he realised (it was a dump rather than a slow pour). Is there anything we can do to mitigate it? So far we've poured litre after litre of boiling water down the sink and most of a bottle of fairy liquid. Anything else? He feels so stupid!

I use about a small amount of rapeseed oil in cooking a meal for five and wash the pan in the sink after. There is no pouring involved, but the minuscule amounts going down the sink each time perhaps contributes to fatbergs. I don't see any other way of dealing with it though.

Wipe it with toilet or kitchen roll first.

We live in a block of flats and the chaos and expense cased by people putting "small amounts" of food and fat down theie sinks is depressing.

Our building manager now gets our drain guy to use a fibre optic camera to locate the source and charge the unblocking costs back to the culprits.

Stop pouring oil and fat down the drain. It all solidifies in the sewer when mixed in with baby wipes and other substances that shouldn't be flushed.

I work for a water company and one of our biggest expenditures is clearing FOG - Fat, Oil & Grease. It stinks, its worse than human waste and is really difficult to remove. If we weren't dealing with ignorant people pouring FOG we could concentrate more on stopping the release of sewage into our waterways, but hey. Its easier to blame the big bad water companies than ignorant/don't care home owners.

There is usuallly nothing left in the pan that wiping it would make any difference, but the pan still needs a wash nonetheless. Was just musing that everyone washing minuscule amounts away unavoidably probably contributes to fatbergs.

You shouldn't really be chucking oil down the drain or disposing of it anyway.

It is oil, it can be poured through a kitchen towel back into the bottle [when it is cold] and reused.

Well if you really are pouring any liquid fat into a pot for the bin and wiping out the pan thoroughly with kitchen roll to remove fat then you are doing the right thing aren't you!

Short of throwing the pan away after a single use there's nothing more you CAN do!

I thought our waterways are full of shit because the water companies are greedy and haven’t invested in our sewage system. I know fat bergs are an issue but talk about blaming the public for your awful employers criminal behaviour!

If you read the OP, he didn't pour the whole lot down.

Loads of reasons there might have been a pan of water sat there; something was being boiled and then the sink was in use so couldn't tip away immediately? A pan that needed to soak as something was stuck to it? All sorts...

This. And how can he do that by “accident”? It wasn’t an accident, he just didn’t think.

@AccountCreateUsername I'm not saying we are blameless, but households that abuse the sewer system cost water companies millions of pounds a year. Imagine what we could do with that if people didn't abuse the system.

The mindset of some user's on here 'I've done it for years and it's never been a problem' show the extent of the issue we are dealing with.

It’s really shocked me. I thought most MNers were sharp enough to know that attitude is selfish.

I'd be looking into some sort of even temporary removable capping system here.

Friends of ours were in a similar situation on a bend in a cul de sac.

Turns out all those who shrugged their shoulders for decades were suddenly far more proactive at not blocking the system when sewage started backing up their toilets.

Bit harsh to call him an idiot, especially when you've explained how he made the mistake and it was easily done

This!! How does oil suddenly solidify in the drain?

You know sometimes, when the sun goes down, or occasionally in the winter, the temperature outside is cold. You may note this as you would
put a hat or scarf on. Maybe even a coat to go outside.

Fats which are liquid at room temperature (rooms are inside) will begin to solidify and create blockages when the temperature drops.

Congratulations on your first year on earth. I can see how confusing things like weather, and the difference between inside and outside could be.

I can understand how people don't know about not pouring fat away or think oil remains as oil, personally, as I didn't know that until recently as an adult.

My parents hardly cooked anything from scratch, I was brought up.on convenience food, and if anything was fried it was in solid fats. Olive oil was for your ears! I do cook but only tried deep frying a few years ago.

WTF? Instead of pouring chemicals down your sink just buy a fucking hair trap.

A good idea I do (and I get the children to help with this to hopefully get them in good habits) is to set the pan with any fat left in on the side then sprinkle oats and seeds in it, leave it to solidify then you can turn it into a little plate and put it out for the birds. Saves the drainage system and also helps out the wildlife a bit? 🌟

Well you called him an idiot in your title, so no wonder posters assume he is some kind of a man child ..

Hopefully this thread will change those behaviours @Wannabegreenfingers

@TooOldForThisNonsense This. And how can he do that by “accident”? It wasn’t an accident, he just didn’t think.
Most accidents are surely due to not thinking. Or not thinking quickly doing. Or not reacting quickly enough or not looking properly. Isn't that the definition of an accident?
He thought it was a pan full of water or other liquid. The pan is black. It looked like any liquid. They don't often deep fry so it didn't occur to him that it was fat. I can easily see how this could be an accident.

It won't block your sink as it's liquid at room temperature.
I tried to Google whether it is bad to put non solidifying oil down the sink but the answers were all non specific and talked about mixed cooking fat oil and grease, nothing that discussed oil on its own. I think they don't want to give people the chance to misunderstand the instructions if they put too many variables in.
While not ideal and probably not good for the bacteria at the sewage plant, I'm pretty sure oil that has not been mixed with fat will not solidify. I work for a soap manufacturer and we have to add heavy duty chemicals like caustic soda to vegetable oils to make them go solid, they don't do it naturally ( with a few exceptions like coconut).
I'm the same as you, very occasionally fill a pan to do a few deep fried things over a week, similar dishes to you, I will do things like pour it onto a compost heap or into the food waste bin on top of coffee grounds, a bit at a time, even into cat litter of it's due a change. It is a pain, at least it stops us deep frying too often.

Not just in winter. It’s pretty cold underground so even “liquid” oils will solidify. It’s depressing reading this thread. I thought we were supposed to be the most intelligent species?

FYI even oil that is liquid at ambient room temperature can solidify when cold (it's why you don't keep olive oil in the fridge. Plus fat molecules attract each other which is why all the 'little bits of fat' everyone seems to chucking down their sinks here, will coalesce to form fatbergs - regardless of whether they are liquid or solid at room temperature (which is considerably warmer than the ambient temperature of a sewer.

I suspect if all the money wasn't spent on fighting fatbergs it would end up with shareholders and the CEO, not on controlling sewage.

IMO you should try not to put a lot of oil and fat down the sink. Your husband didn't know this.

That doesn't make him an idiot, as I'm sure there are things he knows that you don't - and that doesn't make you an idiot either.

It's no biggie or something to make an epic fuss about. Just try not to do it in the future.