Large Chunks of Solidified Fat Block 100mm Drain. DIY?

tooblue on 23/09/2023 - 16:46
Last edited 26/09/2023 - 10:53

Warning: Dirty sewage in picture
https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/83594/106746/drain12.j…

The 100mm drain outside the kitchen is blocked. After some investigation I found that it is blocked by the solidified fat at the bottom of the L shape joint (shown in picture). I managed to break them off the pipe. Now there are large blocks of solidified fat at the bottom of the 1-meter-deep drain.

Are there any DIY methods to get this fat out of the 1 meter deep, 100mm diameter drain? Any tools?

Update:
Thanks for your advice. I ended up using the baking soda + vinegar and boiling water. Repeated a couple of times and the fat seems all dissolved and no more blockage. Sometimes it is really difficult to not running oil down the sink especially when they are mixed with water. But I will be mindful in future.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Nugs on 23/09/2023 - 16:50
    +6

    Cup on a stick like a long handled ladle.
    Have you tried pouring a kettle of boiling water down there?
    .

  • zonra on 23/09/2023 - 16:53
    +14

    I’ll fish the larger chunks out with hooks and/or ladle then pour heaps of hot soapy water down. Definitely a DIY job.
    Also for future reference, don’t pour cooking oil/fat down the drain.

      • Clear on 24/09/2023 - 00:12
        +1

        My previous tenants were flushing baby wipes down the toilet. Massive massive baby wipe berg had to be removed.

        The plumbers earned their worth.

        • freefall101 on 24/09/2023 - 08:37
          +3

          Do you always act like this much of a dick?

          The landlord would have to pay for it, whereas an owner would have to pay themselves.

          • rhythmgrasshoppersun on 24/09/2023 - 08:52
            +5

            @freefall101: Landlord will be passing that bill on very quickly when they get the report from the plumber saying it was blocked up with fat.

          • Motek Benzona on 25/09/2023 - 08:26
            -1

            @freefall101: What is it to be a dick in a forum full of huge dicks? I could not care less what you think

      • Not SkyNet on 24/09/2023 - 12:21
        +1

        Any Blockages that is not day to day activities i.e. fat down sink, baby wipes, sanitary pads etc are deemed avoidable incidents and any charges for a call out would be passed on to the tenant. So best to not do it even if you do rent.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 23/09/2023 - 17:33
    +9

    Don’t pour cooking oil/fat down the drain!

  • Malik Nasser on 23/09/2023 - 18:03
    +3

    Periodic use of a caustic may help prevent it building up in future (sodium hydroxide or similar).

  • mskeggs on 23/09/2023 - 18:16
    +3

    Boiling water if it isn’t too bad. Sometimes a plunger to pull back some of the water that is backed up, so the hot water can melt it. Sometimes takes 15mins to work for the heat to melt it.

  • Protractor on 23/09/2023 - 18:40
    +4

    Vacuum pack it and send it to Sam Newman. He lives on it

  • GordonD on 23/09/2023 - 18:49
    +2

    Mo-Flo will fix it.

    Mo-Flo will destroy anything organic. Fat in the pipe. Roots. Your cotton T-shirt if any droplets get on it. Your lungs if your breath it in.

    It'd be what I'd use if I wanted to get rid of a body.

    The real hard-core hardware shops sell it.

    • Switchblade88 on 23/09/2023 - 19:48
      +5

      I, too, like dealing with 99% concentrated sulfuric acid

      • Navanod66 on 24/09/2023 - 14:35

        Make sure it's VIRGIN GRADE like the Moflo!

    • Montyjpm on 24/09/2023 - 04:54
      +1

      Are you Jesse Pinkman or WW?

    • WT on 24/09/2023 - 13:17

      hydrochloric or pool acid should be strong enough and sold at all hardware stores

      • dono2 on 24/09/2023 - 21:23

        Pool acid won't do shit, this is the big boys stuff. Vapers are super stop, pour and run a safe distance away.

  • Richardc on 23/09/2023 - 19:30

    try Wire Auger

  • 87percent on 23/09/2023 - 19:46
    +3

    Yeah, don’t put cooking oil down the drain. I collect it in a jar and then take it to the local tip for recycling.

    • AustriaBargain on 23/09/2023 - 23:27
      +4

      I pour it into the bin, using paper towel I have already used and disposed of to soak it up. If there's a lot of oil then a foil tray I just disposed of is just the ticket. Only melted my bin slightly doing this.

      • bdl on 24/09/2023 - 09:09
        -2

        How did it melt your bin? Was the oil still hot?

      • xylarr on 26/09/2023 - 19:31

        You can get these fat solidifying crystals at Dyson. Basically it turns liquid fat (oil) into a solid at room temperature. Then you chuck it in the bin.

        I think they're just another form of fat with a really high melting temp. You sprinkle them in warm oil so they dissolve, then when it cools, it will be solid.

    • freefall101 on 24/09/2023 - 09:20
      +3

      My mum uses it for lighting the wood heater, works better than fire starters. Smells surprisingly good too.

    • Love a bargain on 25/09/2023 - 01:24

      Perfect for when you need to remove some labels off glass jars.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 24/09/2023 - 07:24

    That's retirement level grease.

    Napisan or Sodium perc mixed in warm (not boiling) water will destroy that. Safer than the more dangerous Breaking Bad level stuff.

  • iCandy on 24/09/2023 - 07:46
    +1

    Lots of serial killers chop up bodies and flush the meat down the drains…/s

    • cfuse on 24/09/2023 - 11:40
      +1

      That's how you get caught and blocked pipes.

  • Dslrfirst on 24/09/2023 - 09:47

    Not a drain but a sewer.

  • [Deactivated] on 24/09/2023 - 10:58

    The drain should clear with plenty of hot running water.
    Pour cooking oil fat into aluminium foil and dispose of it in the general waste.

  • trapper on 24/09/2023 - 15:25
    +1

    The hot tap in your laundry behind washing machine should have a threaded tap.

    Attach your hose there and run it through the house to this drain. Remove any fitting off the hose at the drain end, you don't want anything to get lost or stuck.

    Now run the hot water and stuff the end of your hose down into the drain and dig it into that gunk as deep as you can, it should melt its way through eventually and clear out the buildup.

    • Thirtyfourfifty on 24/09/2023 - 22:46
      +1

      Mindblown - this is genius

    • Kikkoman56 on 24/09/2023 - 23:03
      +1

      Except there is a risk of cross contamination in your water pipes doing this… You wouldn't want effectively sewage ending up going back into the potable water pipes in your house.

      It's why in commercial settings, hose taps located near grease traps need to have an RPZD.

      • trapper on 25/09/2023 - 13:30

        Well don't drink from your outdoor hose obviously…

  • pndl on 24/09/2023 - 21:34
    +5

    Buy some drain cleaner with caustic soda / lye / sodium hydroxide, it will turn the fats into soap.

  • Love a bargain on 25/09/2023 - 01:28

    Vinegar and bi-carb soda might also help.

    Once you've cleared it, make it a habit to periodically pour some boiling water down the drain as a preventative measure.

  • c64 on 25/09/2023 - 09:20

    maybe you could use a wet vac to suck up or hold on to the fat blobs and pull them out

  • Powlie85 on 25/09/2023 - 12:47

    Here's a hot tip: oil/grease belongs in the bin instead of the sink. Unless you have a grease trap. Which it seems you do now. Enjoy

  • Sinnerator on 26/09/2023 - 08:36

    fire fixes everything, and if it doesn't, at least you got to play with fire

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join