Fats, Oils, and Grease (F.O.G)

YOU CAN HELP PREVENT SEWER CLOGS

F.O.G. is an acronym for Fats, Oils and Grease that get deposited into the sanitary sewer system when poured down drains in homes, apartments, restaurants, industry and public facilities.

As a byproduct of cooking, F.O.G. is usually found in: baking goods, butter, lard, shortening, cooking oil, fats and oil from cooked meats, food scraps, gravy, mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces, sour cream and other foods high in fat. 

WHY IS F.O.G. A PROBLEM?

Blockage can lead to sewer overflows on your property. All too often, fats, oils and grease are disposed of improperly during food preparation and kitchen clean-up. When poured down a drain or toilet, F.O.G. can build up, blocking sanitary sewer lines. When cooking and F.O.G. is allowed to go down the drain, it cools in the wastewater system and sticks to pipes, creating F.O.G. buildup. This accumulation reduces the capacity of the wastewater collection system and is detrimental to the wastewater treatment process. The result is that a considerable amount of money is spent every year removing the build-up of fats, oils, and grease. Home garbage disposals do not keep grease out of the plumbing system.  Also, hot water and products that claim to dissolve grease only pass it further down the line, where it causes problems elsewhere.

The easiest way to solve the grease problem and help prevent overflows of raw sewage is to keep F.O.G. materials out of the sewer system. It is easy to minimize F.O.G. sources at home by changing a few habits.