What Should and Should Not Go Down the Drain

Your drains are designed to carry water and certain waste away from your home, but they are not meant to handle everything.

What goes down your sinks, toilets, tubs, showers, and disposals can affect your plumbing over time. Some items may seem harmless at first, but they can build up, stick to the inside of pipes, cause odors, slow drains, clogs, or backups.

Kitchen Sink Drain Tips

Kitchen drains often deal with food, grease, soap, and debris. Over time, these can build up inside the drain line.

Try to avoid putting these down the kitchen sink:

• Grease
• Cooking oil
• Bacon fat
• Coffee grounds
• Food scraps
• Rice
• Pasta
• Eggshells
• Flour or dough
• Peels
• Bones
• Paint
• Harsh chemicals

Grease and oil are especially common causes of kitchen drain problems. They may go down as a liquid, but they can cool, thicken, and stick inside the drain line.

Garbage Disposal Tips

A garbage disposal can help with small food particles, but it is not a trash can.

Avoid putting these into the disposal:

• Grease or oil
• Large amounts of food
• Fibrous foods like celery, corn husks, or onion skins
• Bones
• Eggshells
• Coffee grounds
• Pasta or rice
• Potato peels
• Hard pits or seeds
• Non-food items

When using the disposal, use cold water and feed small amounts at a time. If the sink starts backing up or draining slowly, stop using it until the problem is checked.

Bathroom Sink Drain Tips

Bathroom sinks often clog from hair, soap, toothpaste, shaving products, and small items that accidentally fall into the drain.

Avoid putting these down bathroom sinks:

• Hair
• Cotton balls
• Cotton swabs
• Dental floss
• Wipes
• Tissues
• Makeup pads
• Contact lenses
• Medication
• Grease, oils, or thick lotions

A sink stopper can collect buildup over time. If your bathroom sink is draining slowly, the stopper area may be one of the first places to check.

Tub and Shower Drain Tips

Tub and shower drains commonly slow down because of hair, soap scum, shampoo, conditioner, and body products.

Helpful prevention tips:

• Use a drain screen or hair catcher
• Clean visible hair from the drain opening
• Do not push hair farther into the drain
• Watch for slow draining or standing water
• Avoid chemical drain cleaners if the clog keeps coming back

If the tub or shower drains slowly again and again, there may be buildup farther down the line.

Toilet Drain Tips

Toilets are made for human waste and toilet paper only.

Do not flush:

• Wipes, even if they say flushable
• Paper towels
• Feminine products
• Cotton balls
• Cotton swabs
• Dental floss
• Diapers
• Cleaning wipes
• Food
• Grease
• Cat litter
• Medication
• Toys or small objects

Even “flushable” wipes can cause problems because they do not break down the same way toilet paper does.

If a toilet clogs often, backs up, bubbles, or needs plunging regularly, there may be a deeper issue.

Laundry Drain Tips

Laundry drains and washing machine standpipes handle a lot of water quickly.

Watch for:

• Water backing up when the washer drains
• Gurgling sounds
• Slow drainage
• Water around the washing machine
• Lint or debris buildup
• Hoses that are loose, cracked, or leaking

If water backs up when the washer drains, stop running the machine until the issue can be checked.

What Is Safe to Put Down the Drain?

In general, drains are safest when they are used for:

• Water
• Mild soap
• Normal wastewater from sinks, tubs, showers, and laundry
• Toilet paper in toilets only
• Small food particles through a disposal when used properly

When in doubt, throw it in the trash instead of sending it down the drain.

Why It Matters

Putting the wrong things down the drain can lead to:

• Slow drains
• Bad odors
• Recurring clogs
• Gurgling drains
• Backups
• Grease buildup
• Pipe damage
• More difficult repairs
• Sewer or main line problems

Small habits can make a big difference in helping your drains work better over time.

When to Call a Plumber

Call a plumber if you are dealing with a drain that keeps clogging, smells bad, gurgles, backs up, drains slowly, or affects more than one fixture.

You should also call if water or sewage is backing up into a sink, tub, shower, toilet, or floor drain.

Drain or sewer concern?

Call or text Shanks Onsite Services at 470-531-3956 with a photo or short video. Let us know which drain is affected, how long it has been happening, and whether anything unusual may have gone down the drain.

Local West Georgia Plumbing • Licensed Master Plumber • Family-owned

Shanks is on it.

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