Kitchen Items Could Give Your Sewage Grinder Pump Troubles

Many people whose homes happen to be below the level of the local sewer lines will require a sewage grinder pump to transfer their sewage water into the municipal sewer lines. This is very common, and many of these pumps will work effortlessly for many years. However, there are times when these sewage pumps will start to show signs of trouble and cause backups of sewage water. One of the biggest offenders in causing these problems are generally related to kitchen scraps.

Many people who have garbage disposals in their kitchens will send nearly anything they can fit down the drain through these garbage disposals. They reason that if it will go through garbage disposal then it is okay for the rest of the sewer line. This could not be further from the truth. Many of the items sent through these disposals will end up in the water basin of the sewage grinder pump and cause problems down the road.

Items which should not be sent down your garbage disposal include seafood shells, coffee beans, and animal bones. These items can damage the garbage disposal and accumulate in the sewage basin. Also, never send dangerous chemicals down your drain such as paint thinners and antifreeze. Again, these will be held in the sewage basin until they are pumped out, but they can also cause problems at waste water treatment plants also.

One of the biggest offenders for causing problems to a sewage grinder pump is cooking grease. Never send any cooking oil or liquid grease which could harden later after cooling. Many people with traditional sewer lines will send hot grease down the drain and then run hot water for several minutes to flush it from their system. These people have the mindset that once it reaches the street it is not their problem. However, for homes with sewage grinder pumps this grease will accumulate in the basin where it can congeal. This can cause a messy problem later on.