Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) in Lake Stevens, WA Drains

Last updated: October 2026

If your Lake Stevens kitchen sink drains slowly and the plunger barely helps, grease is the likely culprit. Fats, oils, and grease — FOG in plumbing shorthand — are behind a huge share of the kitchen drain cleanings Eby Plumbing performs. Here is what FOG does inside your pipes and how to keep it out.

How does grease cause a blockage?

Cooking grease leaves the pan as a hot liquid and hits cold drain water a few feet down the line. It cools, congeals, and coats the inside of the pipe like cholesterol in an artery. Each pour adds a layer. Food particles, coffee grounds, and soap scum stick to the sticky coating, and the pipe's inner diameter shrinks bit by bit.

The trap most people fall into: running hot water "to flush it through." Hot water only carries the grease a little farther before it cools and hardens again — often past your trap and into the lateral, where a blockage costs more to clear. Dish soap does not fix it either; it emulsifies grease temporarily, and the grease re-forms downstream.

What should never go down the drain?

• Bacon grease, hamburger grease, and pan drippings. The worst offenders — they solidify fast.
• Cooking oil and deep-fryer oil. Liquid at room temperature, but it still coats pipes and catches debris.
• Butter, margarine, and lard. Solidify quickly in cool pipes.
• Creamy sauces, gravy, and salad dressing. High fat content, easy to forget.
• Coffee grounds. Not grease, but grounds bind with grease into a cement-like mass. Trash them.

A garbage disposal does not help with any of this. A disposal grinds food; it does nothing to grease. Grease plus ground-up food is one of the fastest ways to build a blockage — the disposal just delivers the problem farther down the line.

How should you dispose of cooking grease?

• Small amounts: let the pan cool, wipe it out with a paper towel, and throw the towel in the trash. Then wash normally.
• A cup or more: pour the cooled grease into a can, jar, or its original bottle, seal it, and put it in the trash.
• Deep-fryer quantities: cool completely, containerize, and trash it. Check Snohomish County solid waste for current cooking-oil recycling events or drop-off options.
• Scrape plates first. Get the bulk of food and sauce into the trash or compost before the plate hits the sink.

Keep a dedicated "grease can" by the stove — an old coffee can with a lid works — and the habit takes about a week to form.

What are the signs of a grease blockage?

Grease blockages build gradually, so the drain works fine until it suddenly does not. Watch for a kitchen sink that drains slower than it used to, gurgling from the drain when the dishwasher discharges, and a sour or rancid smell from the kitchen drain. Boiling water and dish soap can soften mild buildup near the trap, but a hardened blockage deeper in the line needs a plumber's cable or hydro jetting to clear. Skip chemical drain cleaners — they rarely dissolve grease and can damage pipes.

What about grease for Lake Stevens businesses?

Food-service businesses play by stricter rules. Restaurants, cafes, and commercial kitchens generally must install and maintain grease traps or interceptors, pump them on schedule, and keep records. A failed grease program does not just clog your own line — it can back up the shared lateral and draw enforcement attention. Requirements, sizing, and inspection schedules change over time, so verify current rules with the Lake Stevens Sewer District and the City of Lake Stevens. Our commercial plumbing page covers grease-trap service and other business plumbing needs.