Fats, Oils, and Grease...Oh My!

Did you know?

You could be damaging the pipes in your house…without even knowing it! In fact, your pipes might be starting to look a little like this:

Sit tight and I’ll explain the whole thing. See, I used to do this too. Then I had to pay for a plumber to come fix my drains. ($$$$$$$$$).

Let’s talk about a little thing called FOG. This isn’t the fog outside, this FOG is an acronym: Fats, Oils, and Grease.

See, when we cook, we often use these or create them as a byproduct of cooking (can anybody say BACON?)

Often, FOG is essential to creating a tasty meal. It adds flavor, prevents sticking, and other useful things.

The issue comes when we go to dispose of used fats. See, our drainage systems in our houses aren’t built to handle these products.

To get a little gross, FOG will congeal in the pipes of your home, building up over time until it creates blockages and sewage backups.

Here’s a visual of a pipe that was nearly completely blocked:

If you're not completely grossed out, here's a video the City of Niagara Falls took of a pipe going from a house to the sewer main:

How bad is the problem? London spends over $1 Million every MONTH clearing built up FOG from sewers. In fact, in many municipalities, it's actually illegal to dump grease down the drains!

This is also horrible if you’re on a septic system instead of being connected to city sewer. Trust me, new drain fields are NOT cheap.

So it’s not like we’re going to stop cooking…

What’s the solution?

Plumbers recommend disposing used Fats, Oils, and Grease in the garbage.

Here’s the issue: just dumping them into the trash bag is a guaranteed way of leaking the nasty stuff all over when you take the trash out.

Growing up we would save a tin can and dump our grease into that. Sounds simple and cheap, right?

The issue was then the nasty can had to sit on the counter until the fats congealed before we could dump it out, otherwise it would spill and we’d be back to leaking used cooking oil all over the floors.

In the past, I’ve used old pickle jars, etc. And so long as you’ve got a supply of glass jars with lids you’re willing to throw away, this will work great. Dump the grease into the jar while it’s still warm (not congealed), close it up, and you’re good!

But what if washing out those jars and making sure you have one on hand before cooking a fatty meal just isn’t your thing?

What if you don’t like the look of a glass jar half full of congealed grease sitting around?

Do you like to know you have the right tools on hand for your cooking job, no matter what you’re doing?

In that case, I’ve got a solution for you. See, I didn’t know this product existed until just a couple years ago.

Range Kleen’s Fat Trapper System was designed with FOG in mind, and we absolutely LOVE IT!

It’s a handy black container that comes with disposable, foil-lined bags. Stick a bag in the container and pour in your used FOG. (While the grease is still warm, this thing is good up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit)

When one of the bags is full, fold over the top and close it using the attached tin tie. Then just toss the bag in the trash!

Put a new bag in, and you’re good to keep cooking!

Oh, and the black container looks a lot better than a half full jar of fat sitting in your fridge (or even on the counter).

Sure, this system costs more than just recycling used glass jars.

But it’s not expensive, especially when you consider the convenience and safety it gives.

And do you really have that many jars sitting around you’re willing to throw away?

And wouldn’t it be nice to NOT have that grease visible?

Something you could just pour cooking fats into and BAM! Cleanup’s done?

And yes, you COULD continue to dump cooking grease down the kitchen drain like I used to do.

But are you ready to cough up the money for expensive plumbing repairs? (Typically $170-450)

Especially when the solution isn’t that expensive? I mean, just the service call from a plumber costs more than several years of these bags.

Don’t believe me? Check them out: https://www.qualitykitchenstore.com/products/fat-trapper-system-grease-storage-container-with-twelve-disposable-grease-bags

Plus, they’re currently on sale!