Be a binner, not a blocker this Christmas
With Christmas just around the corner, Severn Trent is reminding people to indulge in delicious foods over the holidays but be careful of how they discard of fats, oils and greases (FOG).
For a lot of people, the tradition of preparing and enjoying the classic turkey, fluffy yorkies, and scrumptious puddings with loved ones is an essential part of the holidays.
However, with these tasty festive treats, comes the issue of what to do with the leftovers including pudding mixes, ingredients, things like cake batter, as well as fats, oils and greases.
These can cause huge problems if they make their way into sewers, building up and creating nasty blockages and fatbergs, which can lead to flooding in customers’ homes. All of which can be easily avoided if everything was scraped into the bin.
The water company knows winter can be a challenging time for its customers’, that’s why it’s encouraging people, along with their team of winter helpers, to ‘weather the winter together’. Providing helpful tips, to help protect their home from things like costly blockages and burst pipes, as well as support when it comes to bills.
Grant Mitchell, Sewer Blockages Lead at Severn Trent and winter helper, said: “We want everyone to have a wonderful Christmas but, this time of year is when there is more cooking, so more risk of FOG making its way into our network. So, as you get ready for the merriments, remember to think about of how you dispose of any food scraps.
“We all love a festive meal but when ingredients like cooking fats, or gravies and unused batters are poured down the kitchen sink, rather than put in the bin, fats, oils and greases can gather in your pipes and build up. Combined with things like wet wipes, they create nasty fatbergs that can block your drains and cause huge issues, both for you and your neighbours.
“The holidays can already be a stressful time, but you can make things a little easier by preventing messy blockages that can be quite expensive to fix. Save yourself the hassle by following our tips and being cautious about what you pour down the sink or flush down the toilet.”
Severn Trent have shared some pointers on ways you can protect your home this Christmas:
In the kitchen:
- Use kitchen roll to soak up grease from plates and pans before washing up
- Collect used cooking oil, fat and grease into a container, jar or tin and put it in the bin once cool
- Scrape any leftovers into the bin before you start washing up and use a sink strainer to collect any food from going down the drain.
Aside from in the kitchen, make sure to keep a bin in your bathroom for all unflushable items, like wipes, sanitary products and cotton buds and only flush the 3Ps- pee, poo, and (toilet) paper- down the toilet.
For more information on blockages and how get your home prepared for the holidays, visit stwater.co.uk/avoidblockages.
