How To Properly Get Rid Of Kitchen Grease & Oils

When you cook with oil and grease, it certainly adds flavour to any meal but you can make a real mess with disposal in your kitchen, especially during the high volume holiday seasons. Make sure that after cooking you know what to do with oil because improper disposal of grease and oil can have expensive consequences, like an urgent call to a plumber.

Learn more about proper disposal and safe use of cooking oil right here on the Miss Spotless Cleaning tips blog!

Cooking oil and grease: the best way to get rid of it

The best way to remove old oil and grease is easy; throw it into your garbage. However, you should never directly dump hot waste into your kitchen catcher! Just follow these easy steps:

Allow the grease time to sit, return to normal temperatures and coagulate.
Scoop the grease to a jar that is disposable when it is cold and solid.
Put it in a plastic bag when your jar is full to avoid leaks, and dump it into the trash.

Use a cloth to wipe out all containers, cups and surfaces that came in contact with the oil after you remove the bulk of oil waste. Do this before they’re rinsed into the drain.

What’s The Wrong Way To Dispose Of Cooking Oil?

The garbage may well be the right solution for disposing of cooking oil, but most people are careless and often get rid of cooking oils and grease in reckless ways. Do not use any of these strategies to get rid of old oil and lard:

Never Dispose Of Oils and Heavily Soiled Liquids Down The Drain

Release of oil into the drain or the toilet creates blockages in your home plumbing system and leads to greater blocks of thousands of dollars in municipal street plumbing and infrastructure.

Once hot, oil and lard is hot and liquid they can easily flow down pipes, but they will cool down in your drains and collect other petroleum particles once inside. As the accumulation of greases rises, water doesn’t flow and it moves back up the drain and into your kitchen and household plumbing.

What Happens If Grease Accidentally Goes Down Your Drain?

There are common mistakes when it comes to the removal of kitchen grease, mainly when a group of friends are trying to help you clear up after a meal. Take immediate action with this recommendation from pro house cleaners when grease or frying oil hits your wash basin:

Break down some of the old oil by pouring baking soda and vinegar down the drain.
Use a drain cleaner based on enzymes, which helps neutralise the thick sediment in both metal and plastic pipes.

Use a plunger to further remove the block if your drain is still sluggish. You will have to call a plumber if neither of those solutions succeeds.

Never Throw Cooking Oil In The Yard

It is not a solution to dispose of the waste oil outside. When you pour oil in the soil, it ends up in the water table or sewage system and creates blockages there. Also, soiled animal and vegetable grease and fats can pose problems for animals if they are left outside.

Don’t Put Grease In The Composter Outside

While small quantities of oils in your compost may be safe, there are a lot of ventilation and humidity concerns, which can destroy your fertiliser.

Fat in your compost stack should be removed because it smells, is appealing to pests and causes other problems that may make your compost unhealthy. Do not dispose of it in your compost pile, no matter what type of oil or grass you are using.

Remember to enjoy your festive feasts and the times you break bread with friends and family. But cleaning up is just as important as food prep. Be safe and dispose of waste in the proper ways to avoid a costly headache or kitchen problems in the long term. And call Miss Spotless Cleaning for all your house and kitchen cleaning needs!