Sonora, CA – As we all brace for incoming inclement weather, local utility districts are asking residents now busily cooking up their own storms to take heed in the kitchen.
Officials from several districts are sending a joint alert, reminding folks that Thanksgiving dinner preparations have the capacity to trigger epic plumbing and sewer blockages and failures, forcing emergency house calls and costly repairs that can run into the hundreds and thousands of dollars.
They advise that the best way to avoid these outcomes is to simply dispose of fats, oils, and grease rendered from holiday cooking in the proper way.
Avoid pouring fats or vegetable cooking oils down the drain because liquid fats solidify once they are in the pipes. Instead, let greases cool before scraping them into a container with a tight-fitting lid and then placing it into the refrigerator where it can first solidify before you throw it into the trash.
Although it’s tempting to throw them down the garbage disposal with the rest of the lot, hard-to-grind cooking items like poultry skins, eggshells, carrots, celery, pumpkin pulp, potato skins, banana peels, and pasta should never be ridden of in that manner because they can cause backups. Use a garbage bag and/or compost bin instead.
The tips are provided by Tuolumne Utilities District, Groveland Community Services District, Jamestown Sanitary District, Tuolumne City Sanitary District, Tuolumne County Solid Waste Department, Tuolumne Utilities District, Twain Harte Community Services District and Waste Management.