back to blog

FOG or Fats Oils and Grease Don’t Just Clog Arteries

Fats, Oils, and Grease—oh my! Every day in homes across America, homeowners are contributing to FOG buildup in their homes and their municipalities’ drain and sewer lines. What is FOG? FOG is fats, oils, and grease from food preparation and kitchen cleanup. Restaurants and commercial food processors produce a lot of it and have grease interceptors and maintenance practices to keep it out of the sewers. Since individual homes do not have such devices or programs, their FOG can end up being problematic for sewer lines.

Examples of household FOG are meat fats, food scraps, lard/shortening, baking goods, butter/margarine, cooking oil, sauces, and dairy products. When poured down the drain, FOG can build up in your drain pipes, leading to blockages and backups of your homes plumbing waste system that can cause damage to your home or, at the very least, an unpleasant condition and odor.

The best way to keep FOG out of your residential drain and sewer lines is to avoid dumping such things down your drain or garbage disposal. “Can It, Cool It, Throw It Away” is an easy way to remember how to properly dispose of FOG.

How do you know if you have a FOG problem? If you have water draining slowly from sinks or toilets, foul odors around sinks and other drains, or are regularly using drain cleaners, this can be an indication of a larger problem. The best way to determine if you have FOG buildup in your drain lines is to have a camera inspection done. Inspecting the drains with a sewer camera can determine the cause of your drain issue, and then a solution can be prescribed to fix the problem and prevent its recurrence.

If you do not have any of the symptoms of a more serious drain problem requiring immediate and aggressive action, such as drain line snaking or hydro jet cleaning, a residential drain maintenance program that includes a regular application of a microbial drain treatment like Bio Smart can eliminate existing FOG and prevent its future buildup.

Bio Smart is a patented liquid formulation of live vegetative microbes that degrade and digest fats, breaking down oils and grease and other stubborn organic wastes into harmless by-products and water. Bio Smart is safe and effective in drain lines, septic systems, drain fields, and grease traps. Bio Smart is not corrosive and does not contain harmful chemicals like off-the-shelf drain cleaners. Additionally, Bio Smart meets EPA’s DfE standard for biological drain line and septic system products by demonstrating a more positive human health and environmental profile.

The pipes that carry the water and waste throughout our home are out of sight and out of mind, leaving us to only experience the performance of the fixtures they service: our sinks, showers, toilets, and other plumbing fixtures in the home. Much like the arteries in our bodies, the pipes in our homes are subject to buildup and narrowing and decay as they age. And, as with our bodies’ arteries, what we put into our pipes and the treatment and care we give to them can prevent us from having to deal with nasty messes and inconveniences in the future—as well as save us money now and in the long run.