Perfect homemade gravy calls for turkey grease and drippings from your roasting pan. But pouring leftover turkey grease down your kitchen drain may cause a sewer backup that can ruin any family get-together.
“We’re all excited about being together and cooking together, but we definitely don’t want that excitement to be interrupted by a sewer backup in a home’s basement,” said Luis Maya, spokesperson for WSSC Water.
When collecting the leftover grease, Maya said to just use empty cans from other ingredients in the feast.
When the perfectly-cooked turkey comes out of the oven and is moved to the carving board, let the roasting pan sit for a while.
“Don’t touch it if it’s really hot, just let it cool down,” said Maya. Then, “Simply pour any leftover grease, food bits or any small things, pour them in the can. Let them cool and just throw them in the trash.”
Putting the can of grease in a freezer or refrigerator will help it congeal.
“It’ll cool down and harden a lot faster,” Maya said.
Can’t I just pour it down the drain?
Even if you use hot water to pour grease down the drain, it’s likely not enough to ensure the it won’t harden in the pipes.
“Just like it hardens in that can that we tell you to throw way, it eventually hardens in a pipe,” said Maya. “That will cause a blockage that can cause a sewer backup in your basement, a sewer overflow in the street, or can damage the environment,” by eventually flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.
“One-third of all the sewer backups in our wastewater collection system are caused by grease,” said Maya. “There’s just three easy steps: Can it, cool it, toss it.”
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