Christmas dinner cooks have been warned NOT to pour turkey fat down the sink as it could leave them with a New Year nightmare.
Brilliant banquets will be laid out on tables across the land later this month, with turkey and the trimmings still the most popular choice to mark the occasion.
But while catering for the masses can test any home cook, making a misstep afterwards has the potential to really spoil the Yuletide holidays.
Eleanor Potter, Head of Strategic Product Sourcing at Plumbworld, explained: “It can be very tempting to get rid of any liquid leftovers down the kitchen sink as you battle to conquer the washing-up before the King’s Speech and family games begin.
“But if this includes any fat, such as those from your roast meat or potatoes, I would urge people to stop and think about the knock-on effect before they do so.
“That’s because fat will quickly cool when it comes into contact with waste water and cold pipes – and form a disgusting ‘fatberg’ that will cause major blockages and give you a holiday headache.”
The cost of having a fat-formed blockage removed could run into the hundreds of pounds, and the limited availability of plumbers over the festive season only adds to the problem.
Fatberg
In 2017 a record-breaking 130-tonne fatberg was discovered in sewers below the Whitechapel area of London.
The gigantic greaseball was 250 metres long and incorporated wet wipes and nappies, as well as cooking fat and oil.
Miss Potter said: “Millions of litres of fat and oil are poured down British sinks every year, and it is something that must stop to ensure systems stay in good working order.
“Instead of taking the risk once the crackers have been pulled on Christmas Day, the best approach is to allow any fat to cool down and solidify, then scrape it out of the pan and dispose of it with your regular grey rubbish.
“If you’re left with oil, put it in a sealed container and take it to your local recycling centre where they will dispose of it correctly free of charge.”
Unfortunate kitchen habits
The Plumbworld expert also revealed some of the other unfortunate kitchen habits that can leave you with plumbing issues.
These include not using a strainer plug to catch food scraps, disposing of excess flour down the sink and even cramming egg shells down the gap – which can stick to many surfaces and accumulate to clog the pipework.
Plumbworld specialises in all things bathrooms, kitchens and heating, and has served more than 1.7 million UK customers since being established in 1999.
