Beware of FOG

Here are some tips from our friends at Louisville MSD: If you wash fats, oils, and grease (FOG) down your drain, a buildup may occur in your sewer line. This may clog the pipe and cause sewage overflows into your home, onto the ground, and into our local waterways.

Using your garbage disposal or a grease-cutting detergent does not keep FOG out of the plumbing system. Garbage disposals shred solid material into smaller pieces but do not prevent FOG from flowing down the drain. Grease-dissolving detergents can pass FOG through your household plumbing, but the grease may still cause problems in the sewer lines.

Effects of FOG in sewer pipes:

  • Raw sewage overflows into your home or yard.
  • Raw sewage overflows into our parks and streams.
  • Potential contact with disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
  • Increased operational costs for you as an MSD customer.
  • Blockages, obstructions, and raw sewage overflows that affect others in your community.

Tips to help keep FOG out of the sewers:

  • Never pour fats, oils or grease down a sink, drain, or toilet. Pour used grease into an empty, heat-safe container, such as a soup can, and store it in the freezer. Once the grease has become solid, toss the can into the garbage.
  • Scrape your food waste into the trash. Wipe all pots, pans, dishes, and cooking utensils with a paper towel to soak up grease before washing them.
  • Catch the scraps in your sink with a basket or strainer instead of using the garbage disposal and throw them away in the trash can.
  • Recycle your deep-fryer oil by taking it to Louisville Metro’s grease drop-off location at 7501 Grade Lane.

Where does FOG come from?

  • Butter
  • Cake icing
  • Cooking oil
  • Gravy
  • Ice cream
  • Lard
  • Margarine
  • Mayonnaise
  • Meat and fat
  • Salad dressing
  • Sauces
  • Shortening

MSD offers a video on the dangers of FOG.