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!

Well your an idiot

The issue about doing it is more the bergs of fat in our sewage systems than your sink pipe

Baking soda followed by white vinegar (the cheap one).

Wbeezer

Why don't you just keep the next empty oil bottle and fill it with used old oil and put it in the bin?

Why put any fats at all down the sink? I use empty jars or tins for small amounts then bin when full. The deep fat fryer oil is emptied into the bottle it came in and binned as above.

I am just bewildered Why you are not understanding that oils and fats gather together to make enormous fatbergs in the sewers?

Perhaps those of you who persist will suffer a back-up of raw sewage into your home. Here's hoping. 🤞🏼🤞🏼

@BMW6 I think you misunderstood I don't put oil down the sink,( nor do I put food waste in the general bin). I was just trying to reassure the op that she wasn't going to clog her pipes up with one incident of oil down the sink, not encouraging her to do it. However I'm a logical person and would like to understand how oil, as opposed to fat and grease could cause fatbergs, genuinely interested in the chemistry of it as I've never experienced standard veg oil going solid in water, couldn't find an explanation just very stern but rather simplified warnings. Not arguing against the warnings just would like more detail for my own interest.

Oils (even vegetable oils) solidify at colder temperatures and coalesce with other fats, floating oils and fat solids, as well as picking up and sticking to solid debris along the way, like giant fatty snowballs - Hence fatbergs. It's about looking at the bigger picture rather than just thinking about your own tiny little part of the universe and assuming it doesn't matter.

As I said I don't put oil down the sink, ever, I just feel that posters were very harsh on the OP when she was aware of was not the thing to do and did it by accident. Some people seem to enjoy telling other people off!

For fat that hardens when at room temp we pour all of ours into a tub.

It then gets frozen. It only gets frozen to make popping it out of the tub easier. Then it goes in our food waste bin.

Again can only do this with fat that hardens naturally at room temp. Our food waste is incinerated to produce energy.

I figure that because animal fats were used for candles in the past this is as good a way of disposing of as any and it stops it going into the sewage systems.

All our plugs have little baskets or sieves to stop stuff going down there. I'm a bit paranoid about it. Trying to stop an expensive problem before it happens.

With oils that don't harden I'm considering pouring the waste into things in the food bin that will absorb it (mouldy ends of loaves for example). Still pondering that one. Haven't tested it yet.

All oils harden at low enough temperatures and if mixed with other stuff. In the winter olive oil can often get cloudy and event fairly soild.

I do that for small amounts of oil. It certainly wouldn’t work for a chip pan full. That goes into a container that I’m going to throw out anyway.

No no no no no no no
Please stop using soda crystals, unblocked crap. It does not work.

A chip pan full of oil does not need to be thrown away in the first place.

Not After every use, obviously. But I believe you are only meant to reheat it a certain number of times.

Pouring fat down the sink causes major problems so stop doing it. Just because something doesn't directly affect you doesn't make it ok. Stop being so selfish.