I’ve heard multiple times that it’s not okay to allow any food to go down the drain even with a garbage disposal, I guess because solids shouldn’t go down the drain. But we put a shit ton of solids down the drain through the toilet and that seems to be fine. Does the toilet go to a different sewage pipe then the sink? Or does shit have different properties that make it dissolve better?
So if, say, someone poured bacon grease down the sink for several years until the sink stopped emptying, the solution would just be to pop the p trap off and clean it out? Seems simple enough. I always thought it would accumulate in the main line until that clogged.
No, grease does accumulate throughout the entire sewage system. It’s the solids that most easily clog the P-trap.
As a separate plumber, I would remove the p-trap and snake it until I can get good flow, then install new p-trap.
From my experience plumbing and replacing drain lines, it’s the pipe from the kitchen to the main that backs up and clogs first. A kitchen drain will be 1 1/2” or 2” pipe, and a main will be 3”-4”. Problems come up when the drain isn’t supported properly, or the piping has a lot of warp with low and high spots. As it fills with grease it will begin to sag more in spots and exasperates any existing dips.
I recommend people use enzymatic drain cleaners, not acid cleaners, once or twice a year with hot water to break down any grease deposits.
Thanks for the advice! Good stuff!