Ground coffee clog drain, sink?

Remove P-Trap under sink and clean as best as possible. After reinstalling P-Trap fill P=Trap with cleaner (baking soda + vinegar) and let sit for 45 mins. Place sink stopper in and fill with hot water, Use plunger to remove as much as possible. Repeat a couple of times Realize much of the grease will be in the PO (the horizontal chrome part upstream of the trap) because it's generally colder then the piping close to sink.

magoot wrote: ↑ Remove P-Trap under sink and clean as best as possible. After reinstalling P-Trap fill P=Trap with cleaner (baking soda + vinegar) and let sit for 45 mins. Place sink stopper in and fill with hot water, Use plunger to remove as much as possible. Repeat a couple of times Realize much of the grease will be in the PO (the horizontal chrome part upstream of the trap) because it's generally colder then the piping close to sink.

+1, but don't add baking soda to the vinegar as it will only turn it into water. Just pour the vinegar down the drain and let it sit, then flush it for a while with hot water.
If you think it still needs cleaning, buy some enzymatic cleaner from Home Depot. Don't use Drain-O as it can damage your pipes.

engineered wrote: ↑ +1, but don't add baking soda to the vinegar as it will only turn it into water. Just pour the vinegar down the drain and let it sit, then flush it for a while with hot water.
If you think it still needs cleaning, buy some enzymatic cleaner from Home Depot. Don't use Drain-O as it can damage your pipes.

Vinegar + baking soda is an outdated recipe and you're exactly right. Thanks for pointing that out as the baking soda does turn it to water.
Draino-O- I've seen so many pipes damaged, some even rotted away from Drain-O.
Thanks for the clarification and when I'm wrong I'll be the first to admit it.

Or just dump boiling hot water down.

It's the grease that's stuck in the pipes that acts as the glue for grounds. A bit (Lot) of hot water will free it right up.
If you don't have a clog yet don't worry too much. As you do your dishes, the soap running down per wash will slowly wash away the grease and gunk down the drain (as long as you don't add to the mess).

Lesson for the future. Don't dump grease or grounds down the drain.

How well can PVC pipes take boiling water?

RCGA wrote: ↑ How well can PVC pipes take boiling water?

Well hopefully you're not just pouring boiling water down straight from the pot all the time, but PVC is max rated for 140C.
You only need water to be around the 60-80C region to start unclogging stuff.

Oh wow, i always wash my grounds tray in the sink. Does it actually get stuck in the p-trap? Or does this only happen with excessive amounts?

Daisy91 wrote: ↑ Oh wow, i always wash my grounds tray in the sink. Does it actually get stuck in the p-trap? Or does this only happen with excessive amounts?

It gets trapped throughout the pipes. More so in the first 3' of pipe. Hot water heats grease and once grease hits cold drain pipes it forms a sludge. Coffee grounds are absorbed by grease and sludge buildup occurs.

Save your grounds for the garden.

..lol

No need to take any pipes or P-traps. Just use vinegar and baking soda to unclog any coffee ground.

https://dengarden.com/cleaning/Unclog-Y ... in-Cleaner

DPR2017 wrote: ↑ Hey guys. I ve been using French press lately and not knowing better, I've been washing off the ground coffee of my cup at the sink. Apparently it is one of the worst offenders of clotting drains. What should I do now? The drain is not clogged yet. But are there anything I can do now to fix the potential issue or prevent clogging from happening?

Too true! I've had to deal with exactly this issue.

I didn't bother removing the trap or using any harsh chemical dissolvers, I just ran a drain snake through it (one like this, although mine was $3 at the dollar store). That busted up the clog enough to flush it all out with hot water.

I had no idea! I've been rinsing out the extra grinds in my drain for years and had my sink back up a few times. I was wondering what was causing it! I guess now i know.

I have come to expect a certain amount of ignorance when it comes to home issues here on RFD but this one takes the cake so far. Who on earth would flush SOLID matter down their drain and not expect a problem to occur? What's next, a thread on clogged toilets because someone decided to flush their used toilet rolls?

hoponpop wrote: ↑ I have come to expect a certain amount of ignorance when it comes to home issues here on RFD but this one takes the cake so far. Who on earth would flush SOLID matter down their drain and not expect a problem to occur? What's next, a thread on clogged toilets because someone decided to flush their used toilet rolls?

Are you saying you let nothing solid go down your plumbing pipes? Do you poop in an outhouse and rinse your plates with the garden hose?

barqers wrote: ↑ Are you saying you let nothing solid go down your plumbing pipes? Do you poop in an outhouse and rinse your plates with the garden hose?

Our plates all get scraped into the green bin and there's a screen that prevents anything going down the sink drain. The screen gets emptied into the green bin.
You need more fibre if your poop is solid

engineered wrote: ↑ Our plates all get scraped into the green bin and there's a screen that prevents anything going down the sink drain. The screen gets emptied into the green bin.
You need more fibre if your poop is solid

I guess you're right, I scrape into the green bin and then rinse, but sometimes those annoying sweet pepper seeds and other objects make there way into the sink and under the strainer! I wasn't too worried til I saw this thread but most of the responses will make me a lot more diligent about not letting solids go down... that and maybe more fibre like you said haha.

barqers wrote: ↑ I guess you're right, I scrape into the green bin and then rinse, but sometimes those annoying sweet pepper seeds and other objects make there way into the sink and under the strainer! I wasn't too worried til I saw this thread but most of the responses will make me a lot more diligent about not letting solids go down... that and maybe more fibre like you said haha.

Right, you can't catch 100% of it, but you should try to get as much as you can. A few seeds aren't likely to clog anything, but if you pour grease, sauce, and lots of food then you could build clogs. I run enzymes down the drains once in a while to clear anything that might be building up.

It's also suggested that you don't wash down with hot water, as that can carry greases down your drains, but when it hits the cold main drain from your house, it can solidify.
When I moved into our new house, I had to have the city come clear the city drain as it had some roots and a lot of grease/fat build up.

A family member had to get the plumber in for this exact reason - drain pipe completely plugged because of coffee grounds from a French press which she had started using a few months before. That was an expensive lesson.

barqers wrote: ↑ I guess you're right, I scrape into the green bin and then rinse, but sometimes those annoying sweet pepper seeds and other objects make there way into the sink and under the strainer! I wasn't too worried til I saw this thread but most of the responses will make me a lot more diligent about not letting solids go down... that and maybe more fibre like you said haha.

apology accepted.