Things you should never pour down a drain are any fats, oils, grease, paints, oils, chemical drain cleaners or medications.
These substances, especially the fats, oils and grease solidify in the drain pipes and corrode materials.
The paints, chemical drain cleaners, oil and medications can also contaminate municipal water supplies.
Instead of pouring grease or oil down the drain, wipe and throw away grease in the trash.
Fats, oils and grease that should not be poured down the drain, include butter, cooking oil, bacon grease and gravy as they cool down and harden in the pipes and trap debris and create stubborn blockages.
Both latex and oil-based paints act as binding agents that coat and constrict pipes and should not be poured down the drain.
They also introduce harsh toxins into wastewater.
Starchy & Expanding Foods should also never be poured down the drain, which include pasta, rice, and flour. When exposed to water, these foods continue to swell or turn into a glue-like paste that completely blocks plumbing lines.
Fibrous & Stringy Vegetables: Celery, onion skins, and potato peels.
These wrap tightly around garbage disposal blades and fail to break down easily, resulting in severe clogs.
Coffee Grounds & Eggshells: Though they seem harmless and fine, ground coffee builds up into a sludge and eggshells create granular waste that catches on every bit of grease in your lines.
Chemical Drain Cleaners including Store-bought drain openers should not be poured down drains as these harsh chemicals can severely damage and corrode your pipes, ultimately shortening their lifespan.
Medications which includes Over-the-counter and prescription pills.
Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to filter out these chemicals in medications, leading to dangerous environmental and groundwater contamination.
Kitty Litter should not be flushed down the drain, even brands labeled as "flushable" should never go down your plumbing.
They are highly absorbent and will expand, causing massive blockages.
Instead of using Drano for clogs, plumbers often use mechanical tools or other safer natural remedies to help break down grease and buildup.
Plumbers often avoid using Drano and other harsh chemicals when possible because of the caustic ingredients, which can damage pipes.
The mechanical tools that plumbers use for clearing clogs include plungers, drain augers or plumbers snakes and even physically removing the P-Trap.
A good heavy duty flat plunger for sink clogs or even a good flange plunger for toilets provides enough necessary pressure and suction to dislodge most clogs.
Drain augers or plumbers snakes are long, flexible metal cables that are fed down the drain manually to physically hook onto and extract hair, soap, scum and other debris in the drain.
For severe blockages, the plumber or even yourself may need to remove the P-Trap under the sink directly to clear out the trapped blockage manually.
For natural remedies for clearing clogs, plumbers and even yourself can use baking soda and vinegar for some clogs or dish soap and hot water.
To use baking soda and vinegar for clearing some clogged drains, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain, followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar.
Then cover the drain and allow the fizzing action to break up the clog for around 30 minutes and then flush it down with boiling water.
To use dish soap and hot water, which is ideal for kitchen grease clogs, pour around a cup of liquid dish soap down the drain, followed by a pot of very hot water, to melt and wash away the grease.
The dish soap and hot water will only work on some grease clogs and not other clogs like hair, food debris etc.
If the clog is in your main sewer line, the sewer line will need to be augured out to clear the clog or if it's really severely clogged or the line is cracked or broken, you may need to replace the sewer line, but that is rarely needed.