As the holiday cooking season approaches, Spartan Plumbing is encouraging Arvada homeowners to rethink what goes down the kitchen sink, warning that roasting pans, fryers and extra dishes put more grease into household drains than at any other time of year. The family-owned company, which provides drain cleaning arvada residents call on year-round, said many of the sewer backups it sees in late fall and winter start with everyday habits in the kitchen.
According to the City of Arvada, common household items such as cooking grease, oils, fats, wipes and chemicals can clog pipes and cause sewer backups in homes and neighborhoods. The city recommends letting grease cool, scraping it into a container and throwing it in the trash, and wiping greasy pans with a paper towel before rinsing them. The city also notes that maintenance of the sanitary sewer service line, from the home up to and including the connection to the city’s main line, is the responsibility of the homeowner. That detail matters because a clog that forms in the private line can leave a homeowner footing the bill for repairs that a few changed habits might have prevented.
“Hot grease goes down the drain as a liquid, but it doesn’t stay that way,” said Sammy Carr, co-owner of Spartan Plumbing. “It cools and coats the inside of the pipe, and every time it happens the opening gets a little smaller. By the time the sink backs up, it’s usually been building for a while.” Carr’s point is that grease damage is cumulative and largely invisible until a fixture stops draining, which is why the problem tends to surface during the busiest cooking weeks of the year, when a backed-up sink or a flooded floor drain can disrupt a family gathering.
The company recommends homeowners pay attention to early signs such as slow drains, gurgling fixtures or water backing up into a tub or floor drain. A clogged drain arvada co homeowners notice in a kitchen line can sometimes require hydro jetting to clear built-up grease from pipe walls. For single fixtures, such as a kitchen sink or bathtub that will not drain, Spartan Plumbing provides clogged drain cleaning arvada households can schedule before the problem spreads further down the line. When a backup happens during a holiday gathering or overnight, the company offers emergency drain cleaning arvada service around the clock.
“The easiest call is the one you never have to make,” Carr said. “Wipe the pan, put the grease in a can, use a sink strainer, and only flush toilet paper. If the drains start slowing down anyway, have it looked at before the house is full of guests.” Spartan Plumbing is licensed in Colorado and offers arvada drain cleaning along with sewer, water heater and general plumbing services.
