What you should never put down your drains

Most of the clogged drains we get called out for around Abilene have one thing in common: they were preventable. A drain doesn't usually fail all at once — it's weeks or months of the wrong stuff going down, building up on the walls of the pipe, until one day the water won't go. Here's what to keep out of your drains, and what to do instead.

In the kitchen

Grease, fats, and cooking oil. This is the big one. It pours in as a hot liquid, then cools and hardens onto the inside of your pipe like candle wax, narrowing the line until nothing gets through. Don't rinse it down, even with hot water. Let it cool, pour it into a can or jar, and toss it in the trash. Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing.

Coffee grounds. They clump together and settle instead of washing away. The trash or compost is the right place for them.

Starchy and fibrous foods. Pasta and rice keep swelling after they're down there. Potato peels, celery, and onion skins wrap into stringy tangles. Eggshells grind into a gritty sludge. A garbage disposal doesn't make these safe — it just chops them smaller on the way to the clog.

Flour and dough. Mixed with water, flour turns to paste. That's exactly what you don't want coating a pipe.

In the bathroom

"Flushable" wipes. They're the single worst offender we see. Despite the label, they don't break down the way toilet paper does — they stay intact, snag on anything rough inside the line, and catch everything else behind them. Only toilet paper and human waste belong in the toilet.

Hair. It's the main cause of slow shower and sink drains. A cheap drain screen catches it before it ever gets in.

Dental floss, cotton swabs, cotton balls, and feminine products. None of these dissolve. They tangle and trap other debris. Trash can, every time.

Medications. They don't belong in the drain either — flushing them is bad for the water system, and local pharmacies and take-back programs offer safer disposal.

Go easy on chemical drain cleaners

When a drain slows down, it's tempting to reach for a bottle of chemical drain cleaner. Go easy on those. They generate heat and harsh reactions that can damage older pipes and fixtures, they often don't clear the actual blockage, and the leftover chemical sits in the pipe — which is no fun for whoever opens it up next. A plunger or a hand-operated drain snake is safer for the occasional clog.

What to do instead

• Put a strainer or screen in every sink and tub drain, and empty it into the trash.
• Scrape and wipe plates before rinsing; jar your grease.
• Run hot water after you use the kitchen sink to keep things moving.
• For a slow drain, try a plunger or a drain snake before anything harsher.

When it's time to call a plumber

Some clogs are past a plunger — and a few warning signs mean the problem is deeper in the line, not just the fixture:

• More than one drain is slow or backing up at the same time
• Gurgling sounds, or a fixture backing up when you run the washer or flush
• A sewage smell, or water coming up where it shouldn't

Those point to a blockage in the main line. That's where our drain and sewer service comes in — we can run a camera inspection to see exactly what's going on, clear it with hydro-jetting, and tell you whether it's a one-time clog or something like roots or a broken line that needs a real fix. If it's an after-hours emergency, we answer 24/7 — that's what our emergency plumber line is for.

Keep grease, "flushable" wipes, and fibrous food out of your drains, screen every drain, and most clogs never happen. For the ones that do, a camera and a jetter beat a bottle of chemicals.

Frequently asked questions

Are "flushable" wipes really that bad?

Yes. They don't disintegrate like toilet paper, and they're one of the most common causes of clogged lines and backups we see. Keep them out of the toilet no matter what the package says.

Is it okay to put food scraps down the garbage disposal?

A disposal handles small, soft scraps, but it's not a trash can. Keep grease, coffee grounds, pasta, rice, potato peels, eggshells, and fibrous vegetables out of it. When in doubt, the trash or compost is safer than the drain.

Do chemical drain cleaners work?

Sometimes, but they come with risk. They can damage pipes and fixtures, don't always clear the real blockage, and leave harsh chemicals sitting in the line. For a stubborn or recurring clog, a professional drain cleaning is safer and actually solves the problem.

What is hydro-jetting?

It's a high-pressure water jet that scours the inside of the pipe clean — grease, buildup, and debris — instead of just poking a hole through the clog. It's the most thorough way to clear a badly blocked or greasy line.