In a typical household, items get dumped in sinks and flushed in toilets several times every day.

For the most part, the process works as it should and the items disappear. But every once in a while, the stuff doesn’t disappear and backs up. If you’re lucky, it only backs up into the sink, bath, or toilet. If you’re not, then it overflows into the bath or kitchen. Publichealthjhu.edu explains what happens when you flush things you shouldn’t.

EXIT: oil, food scraps, or so-called flushable wipes. ENTER: the Fatberg.

A fatberg is typically made out of fat, oil, and grease—which do not break down in the sewer system—combined with other things that shouldn’t have been flushed, like sanitary products and personal wipes. The fat, oil, and grease harden and stick all these non-biodegradable objects together, causing an immovable clog: a fatberg.” And, yes, while fatbergs are notorious for plaguing public sewer systems, they also form in homeowners’ pipes.

The same goes for condo pipes and business pipes.

Your best bet to avoid a fatberg is to keep from dumping or flushing things that should not be put into the water system – things like personal wipes and fats, oils, and grease. It doesn’t matter if the personal wipes are marked flushable, they are not.

But things happen! Things that shouldn’t, get tossed and flushed. If that happens and you get a clog, it’s time to call Billy the Sunshine Plumber for help.

Billy the Sunshine Plumber has been the Tampa Bay 24-hour plumber of choice since 1924 when he first opened for business. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is open 24/7/365 in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Days, nights, weekends, or holidays, Billy the Sunshine Plumber is always here for you.

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Disposing of cooking oil down your drain could cause plumbing problems. Billy the Sunshine Plumber can help solve those – and all other – plumbing problems.

You really try to keep up with daily exercise, but recently it’s been so hot that you’ve bypassed your morning walks at one of Brooksville’s parks. Instead, you’ve been staying home and doing a lot of cooking. Despite your usual avoidance of fried foods, you have to admit you’ve been bingeing on them recently. There’s nothing as good as fried food.

True, fried food is delicious. Problem is, that you use a lot of grease and oil to get that wonderful, crunch and taste. That oil and grease can spell doom for your plumbing.

“It’s often tempting to pour the hot oil down your sink so it can flow freely through pipes like water ….. Except, hot oil isn’t like water at all,” according to tastingtable.com.

The danger is that grease and oil can clog your drain and/or pipe and create a “fatberg.”

“These are formed when hot oil reacts with all the wonderful stuff in sewers, like waste and cleaning product chemicals. As fatbergs are established, things can go really downhill — or down-drain — quickly,” tastingtable.com adds. “Once fatbergs are made, they grow in size from debris that sticks to them, which may clog pipes and cause bursts. And if that’s not enough, continuously pouring oil down the drain can also cause damage to city sewer mains, drainage fields, and distribution lines.”

The problem is – where do you dump the grease and oil if you can’t toss it down the drain? Well, tastingtable.com suggests you mix it with a bit of baking soda until you get a paste, then put the paste in the trash.

And what if you’ve already dumped it in the sink? You can try flooding the drain with hot water mixed with some dish detergent. If that doesn’t work and you get a clog you can’t budge, then it’s time to call the trusted plumbers at Billy the Sunshine Plumber for help.

Billy the Sunshine Plumber has been the Tampa Bay 24-hour plumber of choice since 1924 when he first opened for business. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is open 24/7/365 in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Days, nights, weekends, or holidays. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is always here for you, even on holidays.

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Try reusing that cooking oil instead of dumping it.

You spent part of the afternoon at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and when you got home, all you wanted was a drink and some fried mozzarella sticks. You decided to indulge yourself and now you’re trying to decide what to do with a pan full of used cooking oil.

Whatever you do, don’t dump it in the sink. Cooking oil is notorious for clogging pipes and creating blockages that can be really had to get rid of. You could dump it in the trash. Or maybe, you could reuse it. But don’t reuse it before you clean it, says food.ntv.com.

“Have you noticed the small particles left behind from the dishes you create every time you cook …?” foodndtv.com  asks. “These particles could be leftover batter or the skin of an ingredient that you may have fried. It is critical to remove these tiny particles before reusing the oil.”

Food.ndtv.com suggests two ways of removing those particles. One is to strain the oil though something like a coffee filter or cheesecloth. Another is to “heat the oil in a small saucepan. Then take sliced pieces of lemon and place them in the oil. The black particles will stick to the lemon. Take out the lemon pieces and use the oil again.” It is unclear if the lemon will flavor the oil.

No matter how careful you are, you might get a clog or blockage. If you do get a grease clog, you can try to clear it by pouring hot water or a plunger to get things moving again. If all else fails, then it’s time to call Billy the Sunshine Plumber for help.

Billy the Sunshine Plumber has been the Tampa Bay 24-hour plumber of choice since 1924 when he first opened for business. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is open 24/7/365 in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Days, nights, weekends, or holidays, Billy the Sunshine Plumber is always here for you.

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Don’t put grease or cooking oil down your drains or you could cause a clog. There are other ways to get rid of it.

You like the cooler weather that’s settled on Tampa Bay for the past few days. It makes your morning walks and  jogs in the Withlacoochee State Forest so much more pleasant. At least you don’t get back home dripping with sweat.

That doesn’t mean getting home is a total pleasure. At least not when you’re having to deal with a slow drain in your kitchen sink. Since the holidays, it seems as if you can’t get the sink to flow properly.

It sounds as if you have a clog that’s forming in your drain. Considering your problems began during the holidays when you were doing a lot of cooking, it’s very possible you’ve put something down the drain that’s causing the problem. One likely culprit is cooking oil and it’s companions, fat and grease.

That sounds simple – don’t pour it in the sink. Just dunp it i the trash. Right?

Wrong.

“Getting rid of oil the wrong way can attract pests and cause damage to your home,” according to insider.com.

Insider.com explains:

• Don’t pour it down a home drain. It will build up if you pour it down a drain. And if a clog is already forming, the grease will make it worse and potentially damage your pipes.
• Don’t pour it out in the yard. No matter what type of oil and what was cooked in it, used oil poured out in the yard will attract animals and pests.
• Don’t pour it down a storm drain. Storm drains, like home drains, are not meant for oil disposal. Like pouring out in the yard, you’re attract pests like rats

Instead, insider.com suggests you put it in a close-able container that you can toss, reuse it, or take it to a recycling center.

“When disposing of cooking oil, don’t pour it down drains or anywhere else where it can attract pests or get into water and sewage systems. This includes compost piles, which are already prone to attracting critters,” insider.com says. “Instead, put used cooking oil in a tightly concealed container. Throw it out with the trash or take it, if it’s accepted, to your local recycling center. Moreover, to get the most out of cooking oil, clean and store it for reuse a couple times before discarding.”

If it does get into your drainage system and forms a clog you can’t get rid of, call Billy the Sunshine Plumber for help.

Billy the Sunshine Plumber has been the Tampa Bay 24-hour plumber of choice since 1924 when he first opened for business. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is open 24/7/365 in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Days, nights, weekends, or holidays. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is always here for you, even on holidays.

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Billy the Sunshine Plumber can help if your drains become clogged with fats, oils, and/or grease.

“Fatbergs” made up of fats, oils, and grease have become international news during the past few years. The fats, oils, and grease, more commonly called FOG, get into the sewer system and form a HUGE (17 tons in one London sewer) clog that stops up the system. It takes a lot of work and expense to clear those fatbergs and get things running again.

Now, the fatberg type of clog has hit near home with repeated FOG clogs in Polk County’s sewer system. They’ve become more common, officials say, because of the growing population in Polk.

Fatbergs are not only a problem in government systems. They also cause problems for home and business owners as the FOG that’s dumped into drains builds up and stops up your plumbing system. The problem gets even worse around Thanksgiving as turkeys and other cooking become more intense.

As with many things in life, prevention is the best cure for fatbergs.

“If you make a lot of grease at one time, say, frying a turkey, some areas offer fat and oil recycling to get rid of it and actually turn it into useful biofuel,” businessinsider.com advises. “For smaller amounts of grease, let it solidify in the pan or in a jar, then throw the solid grease in the trash can. Make sure to wipe the greasy pan or dish with a paper towel to soak up the rest. Try to get as much as possible of the grease and oil into the trash instead of the drain — just the little bit that washes out with the wastewater can cause problems over time, especially in areas with high populations like cities.”

No matter how careful you are, FOG can still get into your drains. Businessinsider.com quotes one expert who explains: “People try to discharge their oil and grease properly, but over time, you can get a fair amount of oil and grease from washing pots, pans and dishware. … The cumulative impact could be substantial. It’s that long-term consistent discharge of that oil and grease, even if it’s a small amount at a time, which could lead to problems.”

If that happens to you and you can’t get rid of the blockage by yourself, it’s time to call the reliable plumbers at Billy the Sunshine Plumber for help.

Billy the Sunshine Plumber has been the Tampa Bay 24-hour plumber of choice since 1924 when he first opened for business. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is open 24/7/365 in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Days, nights, weekends, or holidays, Billy the Sunshine Plumber is always here for you even on Thanksgiving day. 

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Excrement and toilet paper are the only items that should be flushed in your toilet. And you should never dump grease or oil in any of your drains. If you do and you get a “fatberg,” Billy the Sunshine Plumber can help.

Once again a sewer clog has made international news. That seems to be outsized attention to something that’s not out of the ordinary. But this is no ordinary clog – although it’s a type that’s becoming more common – it’s a so-called fatberg. A fatberg is formed over time as items that don’t dissolve gather into a massive clog – in this case a 330-ton “fatberg” that stretches more than a half-mile long and will take weeks to move.

The cause of a fatberg is a combination of unflushable products like wipes, diapers and sanitary products being disposed of in toilets rather than put in the trash. The clog that forms is then compounded by people who dispose of grease and oils by dumping them in the drain.

You may be wondering why you, as a homeowner, needs to worry about a clog in the public portion of the sewer system. But you should worry because, at times, those items don’t move into the public system. Instead, they stay in your portion of the system and leave you with your own fatberg that you have to clean up. (You also don’t want to contribute to the larger fatberg problem that will inconvenience you, your neighbors and cause your local government to spend lots of time clearing up a major fatberg.)

If you’d rather be doing things like visiting the Giraffe Ranch than dealing with clogged plumbing, then don’t flush anything other than pee, poo or toilet paper, and never dump grease or oils in your plumbing.

If you do get a clog or fatberg and need help to clear it, then call the trusted Tampa Bay plumbing pros at Billy the Sunshine Plumber.

Billy the Sunshine Plumber has been the Tampa Bay 24-hour plumber of choice since 1924 when he first opened for business. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is open 24/7/365 in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Days, nights, weekends, or holidays, Billy the Sunshine Plumber is always here for you. 

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Bacon grease can quickly clog a sink drain. If your drain becomes clogged from bacon grease, or any other substance, Billy the Sunshine Plumber can help.

You went to Crystal River this morning for a bit of scalloping. When you returned, you found that your kitchen sink was completely clogged. That wasn’t terribly surprising because the drainage from the sink has been getting slow recently. But, up until this morning, it’s worked even though it’s take awhile for the water to clear out of the sink.

You think you know the reason it clogged – bacon grease. Although you know better, you haven’t been diligent about letting the grease harden before dumping it in the trash. You’ve occasionally poured bacon and other grease down the drain thinking that there wasn’t very much grease because you’d only cooked a couple of slices of bacon.

You’re not the only one who knows better but who dumps bacon (and other) grease in the sink. In some cases, according to the Wall Street Journal, it’s a matter of people’s thinking that they have to wash out the pan anyway, so what’s the harm? Adding to the issue is the popularity of bacon.

“Consumption has skyrocketed as chefs and home cooks add the pork product to everything from doughnuts to vodka to gumballs,” the Journal says. “That means there is more opportunity for misdeeds.”

And those misdeeds can be hard on sinks and pipes.

“When poured down the drain, the fat coats the sides of the water line, gradually building up and narrowing pipes. Grease that doesn’t stick to residential pipes eventually makes its way to the city sewer system, where it can accumulate to form massive blockages. Clogs have gotten so big that workers have to use shovels to get the fat out,” the Journal reports. “London officials had to excavate a 130-ton ‘fatberg’ from the Whitechapel sewer last year. The monstrous glob was the size of 11 double-decker buses and consisted mostly of grease runoff and trash.”

No, you’re not likely to get a 130-ton fatberg in your plumbing, but you can create a large mini-fatberg of your own. The Journal reports that one resident created a three-foot grease clog in the pipe under the kitchen sink. 

That’s not something you’re going to be able to remove with your handy dandy plunger. You’re going to need help.

If you don’t have a trusted, reliable plumber to help with your plumbing issues, call the plumbing specialists at Billy the Sunshine Plumber for help. 

Billy the Sunshine Plumber has been the Tampa Bay plumber of choice since 1924 when he first opened for business. Billy the Sunshine Plumber is open 24/7/365 in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Days, nights, weekends, or holidays, Billy the Sunshine Plumber is always here for you.

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When you have a clogged pipe, call the drain cleaning experts at Billy the Sunshine Plumber to get things flowing again.

It’s that time of year when people are planning fun and family time – whether it’s going to one of the many holiday events in the Tampa Bay area or hanging around the house. One of the traditions this time of year centers around food – cooking and baking for family and friends.

Yes, giving away your baking and cooking or having folks over for those goodies is a nice way to celebrate the season, but it can have a downside for your sewer system. The downside comes if you dispose of grease by dumping it in your sink. That’s because the grease and oil don’t just simply disappear down the pipes, they can congeal and form blockages.

These blockages or “fatbergs” have been plaguing city sewer systems recently. For example, last year Baltimore officials announced that “a massive, concealed lump of fats, oils, grease and wet wipes was to blame for an overflow that dumped some 1.2 million gallons of sewage,” according to one news report.

The report from nypost.com goes on: “The revolting mass was discovered in a sewer main near Baltimore’s Penn Station, where it blocked an estimated 85 percent of a 24-inch-wide, 100-year-old pipe.

“’They sent a machine with a closed-circuit television camera into the sewer, and soon discovered the walls of the sewer pipe were caked with congealed fats, oils and grease (FOG),’ the agency announced Monday. ‘Unfortunately, as they were working in the pipe a backup occurred and led to a sewer overflow.’”

The first sign that you might have a clogged pipe is a slow drain. While many slow drains can be fixed with the help of a plunger, at times you need a drain cleaning expert. That’s when you need to call the drain cleaning and clogged pipe pros at Billy the Sunshine Plumber.

Billy Sunshine has been the Tampa Bay plumber of choice since he opened in 1924 – that’s almost 100 years cleaning drains and unblocking clogged pipes. Billy Sunshine is available 24/7/365 so he’s always here for you. 

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