How To Properly Dispose Of Kitchen Grease

We know, we know. It’s so easy to just toss that hot, oily grease down the drain without a second thought, but oh man can it can really cost you in the long run. While the grease is likely still hot when you pour it down the drain, and therefore still in its liquid state, it won’t be once it’s nice and cooled down in your pipes. And this gunky, sticky solidified grease acts as a trap for other debris that goes down your drain, eventually creating a pretty nasty blockage that can wreak havoc on your entire septic system. In fact, and we kid you not, it once took a team of sewage workers not one, but THREE weeks to clear a 15 ton ball of grease that nearly led to a street filled sewage-fest. Yikes! Avoid the mess (and the giant ball of grease) with these tips:

First… Have You Considered Reusing Or Repurposing It?

For instance, instead of tossing that bacon fat leftover from cooking up breakfast, consider storing it and using it as a tasty flavor booster for other foods. You can add it into roasted vegetables, use it to fry up burgers, make it your new favorite base for homemade gravy, or keep it on hand to season your cast iron. The possibilities are endless… and endlessly tasty! And this doesn’t just apply to bacon. Be sure to look up other recipes that may be better suited for the grease you now have on hand.

If You Simply Must Be Rid Of It

  1. Let the grease cool. This will allow it to solidify, which brings us the next step…
  2. Transfer the solid grease into a vessel, such as a used bottle, plastic tub, or container. We recommend avoiding glass due it’s tendency to, ya know, shatter.
  3. Once your vessel is full, dispose of it with the rest of your trash.

Having septic issues or need guidance? We can help! Contact us here

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BBB Solutions: Water Efficiency

Water efficiency and conservation saves you money, limits contamination of local water, and extends the lifespan of your septic system

How Does It Work?

All of the water your household uses gets sent down its pipes and into its septic system, and so reducing your water usage, or using your water efficiently, helps avoid potential issues and damages such as septic system overloading or failure, drainfield problems, clogged pipes, and contamination of local water sources. 

For example, heavy water usage overloads your septic system and negates its abilities to treat wastewater. This can cause drainfield issues (soggy spots in your yard, sewage odors, etc.), and the contaminated water that has leached into the soil can then also affect local water sources. 

Crazy, right!?

How Much Water Does Your Home Use? 

It varies depending a number of factors, such as how many people are living in your household, your daily water usage habits, and how efficient your appliances are, but a typical single-family home averages nearly 8,000 gallons of indoor water usage per month, and a leaky sink or running toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water per day

Water efficiency considerations for your home: 

Laundry

Dishes

Flushing

Personal Habits and Other Tips

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Bbb Solutions: Water Efficiency

Composting: Turning Garbage Into Gold

We shared what foods to avoid putting down your garbage disposal, but don’t worry! We won’t leave you with a handful of scraps. 

Instead of throwing food waste down the drain or into the garbage, we recommend composting. 

The Long And Short Of It

Compost consists of decomposed organic materials, while composting refers to the natural process by which compost is created. Finished compost is dark in color and rich in nutrients, making it a highly valued soil additive referred to by gardeners as Black Gold. 

But Wait! There’s More! 

Composting isn’t just good for your garden, it’s good for the environment and good for your garbage disposal. 

In a 2017 study on household composting, researchers tracked household waste in a series of homes over the course of a year and discovered that, on average, composting saved 277 pounds of waste per person that otherwise would have gone to decompose in landfills. Though organic matter does naturally decompose in landfills, it does so underground and undergoes a process that produces methane - a greenhouse gas that’s bad for the environment and 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, composting at home occurs above ground and allows access to oxygen, meaning decomposition can occur sans methane.

(Know your meme! Come on a Neature Walk.)

Composting is also good for your garbage disposal! While your garbage disposal can handle a lot, there are various foods and food waste that require a different method of discard, lest you invite clogging, drainage issues, and unpleasant sink odor. Avoid the mess and stress by feeding your garden instead of your garbage disposal! 

Composting At Home

To start composting at home, all you need is a bin or large bucket that you’ll keep outside in a dry area. Make sure that it has a lid, or that you can easily cover the top of your compost bin - we recommend using a tarp.

And so the science of composting begins! Your ingredients should include: 

Browns - hay, straw, leaves, branches, twigs, and small paper scraps

Greens - vegetable and fruit scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, and grass clippings

Water 

You’ll want to add your ingredients in layers, and make sure you dampen them with water when you add more to your compost pile. For best results, turn it with a gardening tool every few weeks and make sure it gets up to at least three feet tall so everything heats up nice and even. You’ll know it’s ready to add to your garden when it looks crumbled, and resembles soil rather than scraps! This process can take up to two months or longer, so be patient. 

Do you have your own compost pile? Tag us on social media and let us see your hard work! 

Five Things To Avoid Putting In Your Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposal singing again? Avoid humming, back-up, and clogging by avoiding putting these five things down your disposal.

Coffee Grounds

We know some of you use coffee grounds in small amounts to help combat unpleasant garbage disposal odor, but coffee grounds are known to collect and condense which can cause serious clogging in your drain and pipes

Potato Peels 

Potato peels are notorious for mushing up and clogging drains. 

Banana Peels

Another peel to avoid feeding your garbage disposal! These peels are stringy and fibrous, which makes them bad news for disposals. 

Egg Shells 

Some say that throwing egg shells down disposals help sharpen its mounted blades, but it’s more likely that the egg membrane will attach itself to the lining and collect other undesirable leftovers, leading to an unpleasant smelling sink. 

Fibrous Vegetables

Just like banana peels, fibrous veggies run the risk of getting tangled up in your disposal. Vegetables to avoid include: celery, kale, asparagus, onion skins, pumpkin, and chard. 

We’re At Your Disposal!

Garbage disposal issues are a common problem, and we’re here to help! To learn what to do with these kitchen scraps you can’t throw down the drain, check out our blog post on composting. For help from one of our pros, contact us here

Spring Cleaning In A Time Of Social Distancing

In light of recent current events, many of us are spending an unprecedented amount of time in our homes with limited access to the day-to-day activities that help provide us with a semblance of normalcy. For most, the result is this: lots and lots of down time and a general sense of unbalance. Now, we too have seen much of the mass online messaging that offers the chiding advice to “make the most” of this time, and so we gently say: For those who are using this down time to process, we honor and support you. And for those who feel a desire to keep busy during these strange times, we recommend taking the leap to tackle your spring cleaning.

Spring Cleaning Benefits

For all of our fellow social distancers who are just itching to keep busy, spring cleaning is a great way to occupy time, and it works to uplift your mental and physical health which is certainly a welcome benefit during these trying times. In fact, reports from experts 404 say benefits can range from improved mood and reduced stress, to illness prevention and improved breathing.

Here at BBB we recommend the three C’s approach to spring cleaning: create, clear, and clean. 

Create 

Spring cleaning your entire home might seem like a daunting task. To help negate this, try creating a list or a coming up with a game plan for what you’d like to see accomplished. Consider adding on projects you may typically ignore or push off, like septic maintenance 429 or closet clean outs. And the best thing about a list? The satisfaction of crossing off a completed task! Now, when creating your game plan, think about what sort of cleaning system usually works best for you and/or your housemates. Do you prefer completing one room at a time? Or once you start dusting in one room, do you prefer to go ahead and dust the whole house? Regardless, knowing what you want to do, and how you’re going to do it are helpful in making your spring cleaning feel less intimidating. 

Clear

Clearing away unwanted or unused items during spring cleaning helps to tidy and open up the space in your home. You’ll feel better after this decluttering - we promise. To start, gather up clothes and shoes that no longer fit or go unworn, broken items you never got around to fixing (it’s been years, my friend - time to let it go!), and toys your kid’s have outgrown, and then ready them for rehoming to a place in need or disposal (speaking of disposal, are you using yours properly?). If the items are still good quality, try donating them to a local nonprofit. After all, it feels good to do good! 

Clean

The last, but certainly not least “C”: clean. Now, more than ever, cleanliness is of the utmost importance. With new viruses (looking at you, COVID-19) reportedly able to survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours and seasonal allergies affecting those with sensitive respiratory systems, it’s vital to sanitize and remove dust from surfaces. When spring cleaning, take special note to include those hard to reach or generally forgotten areas, such as tops of ceiling fans, behind heavy furniture, or between appliances.

Happy spring cleaning, and stay safe and sane out there friends! 

If you enjoyed this article, check out these other articles:

Five Things To Avoid Putting In Your Garbage Disposal