Fats, Oil and Grease Are Ruining Your Drains

Fats, oil and grease (FOGs) are the worst thing to pour down your drains. They turn solid as they cool, sticking to the inside of your pipes and trapping hair, food and wastewater. FOGs are a leading cause of drain clogs, backed up sewer pipes and sewage overflow on your property.

Your best defense against clogged drains is to never pour fats, oil and grease into your plumbing system. Our expert plumbers recommend Endure, an enzymatic drain cleaner that turns grease clogs into harmless CO2 gas that leaves your sewer pipes.

• Fats, oil and grease cause major sewer line problems. FOGs create solid clogs that lead to sewer backup, improper wastewater disposal and sewer line leaks.
• Grease clogs don’t stop at your property line. FOGs accumulate even after they leave your main line and cause clogs in your public sewer system or septic tank.
• Use bacterial drain cleaners for grease buildup. Our Dallas-Fort Worth plumbing experts are licensed to use Endure, a leading innovator in grease eating drain cleaning.
• Schedule annual drain cleaning to fight grease clogs. Our Platinum Pipeline Club membership includes a $200 annual drain cleaning coupon and free sewer leak test.

{{drain-cleaning="/services/drain-cleaning"}}

How Fats, Oil and Grease Damage Plumbing

Fats oil and grease (collectively known as FOGs) are incredibly tough to get out of your pipes. Excessive FOG buildup doesn't just create nasty clogs — they “glue” food scraps, hair and other organic materials as they build up in your pipes and drains.

Grease blockages quickly expand to unmanageable levels, wreaking all types of havoc in your home plumbing system:

• Excessive FOG buildup in your sewer line creates raw sewage backup into your sink and floor drains.
• Fatty acids in a “FOG clog” eat away at your pipes. Over time, they cause sewer line leaks and pipe damage.
• Once FOGs cling and settle in your plumbing, they're difficult to remove.

Grease clogs: the hardest type of drain clogs to clear?

Our expert plumbers say FOG clogs are among the most difficult to clear from home plumbing systems. 

“Think about fat, oil and grease in your pipes like cholesterol in your body," one plumber told us. “It doesn't just stick to the walls — it hardens in place once it's there and only gets worse.”

We know it's tempting, but never pour fat, cooking oil or grease down the sink drain or any other drain in your home. It doesn't matter if you have a grease trap or grease interceptor in your system — it's going to accumulate over time.

Long-Term Effects of FOGs Buildup in Pipes and Drains

Fats, oils and grease blockages in your sewer pipe can have devastating long-term effects. These include:

• Wastewater and raw sewage backup into your home.
• Inefficient wastewater flow away from your home.
• Accumulation of food waste and human waste in your main sewer pipe.
• Attraction of intrusive tree roots to the organic clog in your pipe.
• Potential damage, cracks and breaks in your main sewer line.
• Wastewater flooding in your backyard.
• Toxic sewage gas leaks in your backyard.

If left unchecked, FOG clogs in your drains create a breeding ground for pests and bacteria. Symptoms of a grease clog in drains include:

• Biofilm and bacteria accumulation in your grease trap.
• Pest infestation around your floor drains and sink drains.
• Wastewater backup in your sink and bathroom drains.
• Wastewater backup around your water using appliances.

How fat and grease clogs affect the public sewer system

FOG blockages in your main sewer line can travel into the public sewer system. 

If you've read about “fatbergs" (large, congealed masses of fat and grease) in the public works system, improper FOG disposal is to blame.

Our plumbers live and work in Dallas-Fort Worth — we don't want any “fatbergs” here! We're committed to fast, efficient and environmentally responsible sewer line clog repair.

Why DIY Grease Clog Solutions Don’t Work

DIY grease clog solutions don't work for 2 primary reasons:

1. They utilize corrosive, caustic chemicals that eat away at your plumbing, or
2. They simply add to the clog.

Pouring bleach or Drano down the sink drain is a terrible idea. These products cut grease, sure — but they also cut every pipe and drain they touch. It's not worth partially clearing a FOG clog and creating a cracked sewer pipe at the same time.

Some online sources suggest a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to clear a grease clog. This combination isn't incredibly effective for medium to large-sized clogs — often becoming part of the clog themselves. And large quantities of baking soda and vinegar can also eat away at your pipe system.

Our licensed DFW plumbers love bacterial drain cleaners

Our expert Dallas-Fort Worth plumbers are trained and licensed to use Endure — we think it's the best drain cleaner for grease buildup.

Endure is an Bacillus bacterial drain cleaner that doesn't harm your drains or pipes. Instead, Endure turns fats, oil and grease into carbon dioxide gas. This gas passes safely through your sewer line and out into the public sewer system (or your septic tank).

The best part? Endure tackles grease blockage anywhere in your system, even deep in your sewer pipe. Our customers get a free bottle of Endure for ongoing maintenance after their drain cleaning service — use it once every 30 days for best results.

{{best-drain-cleaner-for-grease-buildup="/blogs/best-drain-cleaner-for-grease-buildup"}}

Chemical drain cleaners stink at clearing grease clogs

We all know chemical drain cleaners are harmful. But homeowners often "bite the bullet" for fast results.

But chemical cleaners are outperformed long-term by bacterial drain cleaners. Most stop working after 3-7 days. And oxidizing drain cleaner products aren't powerful enough to clear the core of a FOG clog- they just eat around the edges.

Annual Drain Cleaning Prevents FOG Clogs

Preventative maintenance starts with Mother's best management practices for healthy drains. That starts with annual drain cleaning — our Pipeline members get $300 towards that service call every year.

Use a bacterial drain cleaner like Endure once every 30 days for optimal protection against FOG clogs in your plumbing system.

DFW residents: get $300 in annual drain cleaning coupons!

Dallas-Fort Worth area residents who join our Platinum Pipeline Plus Club get $300 in annual drain cleaning coupons! Make FOG control affordable and keep your drains and main line free of grease clogs with our fast, efficient service.

Here are 6 more awesome benefits of Mother's DFW plumbing membership program:

1. 16% discount on every plumbing job
2. Pre-scheduled annual water heater flush service
3. Zero dispatch fees (100% waived)
4. Weekday appointments guaranteed within 24 hours
5. Exclusive FaceTime access to emergency plumbers
6. Free fresh water and sewer leak testing

{{drain-cleaning="/services/drain-cleaning"}}