As families prepare holiday meals this week, some will make mistakes that could be costly not only for them, but also the city they’re living in.
Every year, President of Mann Plumbing in Bloomington David Mann said he gets some panicked calls the week of Thanksgiving.
With so much cooking going on, some things make their way into the sink that shouldn’t.
“Sometimes the kitchen drains get overloaded especially,” Mann said. “Garbage disposals get overburdened and then they can’t go ahead and grind and drain what is put down through there.”
Mann said pouring oil and fats down the drain can cause pipes to get plugged up, too.
And, that can lead to major issues for cities, like clogged sewer lines.
Bloomington Utilities Pre-treatment Coordinator Tamara Roberts said that problem takes a lot of time and money to fix.
“When a line gets backed up, it can actually overflow raw sewage to the surface, which is actually an illegal thing to occur,” Roberts said. “That can cause a lot of problems for us. We report that to the state, but we also have to monitor those events and try to remedy them.”
Roberts said to avoid any issues, people should dispose of cooking oils in the trash and avoid using garbage disposals.
