The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

starter in the kitchen drain

msbreadbaker's picture
msbreadbaker

starter in the kitchen drain

The post a short time ago about having a clogged drain from what I gathered was a one time dump of some starter that had hardened and a plumber had to remove, interested me.

I always dump my starter discards on my compost pile and am very careful about my kitchen drain. But when you stop and think about all the dough residue that gets rinsed down the sink when making sourdough bread, from your hands, the dish rag, the bowl interior, the spatula, measuring cup, etc., does it maybe build up over time and create what the person above described? Has anyone had any plumbing issues attributable to this? I wonder where all the stuff actually does go, as sticky as it is, maybe it does form it own clog.

Then if it does cause a problem, how the heck do you keep it out of your sink, such a tiny amount each time.

Thanks for any help and advice. Jean P. (VA)

tananaBrian's picture
tananaBrian

I don't know what's different about starter versus just a flour and water mixture, but when starter dries, it turns to cement and becomes difficult to clean off.  I noticed that long ago and now when I pour starter down the drain, I put it in a bowl and run water into it to dilute it down as it overflows the bowl and goes down the drain.  Sometimes I will run a shot of dish soap into the boat too, to help emulsify the starter as well.  Never a problem yet!  I'd be scared to dump it down the drain and then walk away without at least making sure you flush the drain with lots of water and/or soap...

Brian

 

MangoChutney's picture
MangoChutney

We have never had a problem with accumulating traces of dough in the kitchen plumbing.  Whenever our drain has been plugged, the plug has been built from coagulated grease and bits of the scrubber pads we use.  The grease comes from draining the cooking water off boiled sausage.  What's in the drain isn't in our arteries, so we accept this as a cost of being healthier.

While my starter does dry rock hard, it also softens quickly in water.  By the time it is off the surfaces of the vessel it was dried to, it is dissolved/suspended in the dishwater.  It even wipes off kitchen counters with a wet washrag, after a few swipes.  Given that, I think the only way you would get dough to form a block in plumbing would be to put a large enough lump in all at once, to prevent any water from flowing past it.  Even then, I think it would have to be far enough down to not be reached by water moved around by a plunger.  Otherwise you could slowly work at it from the top side.

fminparis's picture
fminparis

Flour + water = paper mache. Paper mache = hard blockage and trouble in pipes. Let as little as possible dough, flour down the drain. Any flour left in bowls, on cookie sheets, brush  into the trash. After washing utensils, bowls, hands with dough, run the water for awhile to wash it down and away and dilute the mixture so it never hardens.  

mrfrost's picture
mrfrost

Agreed. Just as a general pricipal, I avoid letting as little flour or dough as possible into the drain. Doesn't seem difficult at all doing so.

flournwater's picture
flournwater

Having only recently finished opening up my residential system and spending a lot of time cleaning out the accumulation of flour/water paste in the pipes I can tell you that mrfrost offers great advice.  I thought I was being careful (scraping "most" of it into the trash) but over time the lines accumulated flour/water paste on their inner surfaces and those deposit attracted other materials until it all finally came together.  I do my own household maintenance/repairs so it wasn't terribly expensive but I'd prefer not to work on plumbing when I could be enjoying myself in a nice kitchen with the scent of fresh bread in the oven.

alldogz's picture
alldogz

you can find equally cheap screen strainers (2 bucks maybe) at walmart, target, and i think Lowes...also saw them at camping world (they have big and little camper sized ones too)...they work catching the big chunks..i have never had a problem, i am on a septic system, so any yeast that goes down is getting fed pretty well..the screens do a fab job of catching globs of flour, dough, nuts, seeds and anything bigger than that mesh...i have several and just rotate them through the dishwasher.

Salilah's picture
Salilah

OK this is probably way too basic but...

The biggest lesson I learned with flour / starter / dough etc is - use COLD water!!!

It sounds silly but - if you wipe the counter with a hot sponge, it goes gloopy
If you clean a container with hot water, it's gloopy

Cold water clears most things, including surfaces (and hands) - worth knowing!
(sorry to everyone who knew this before - I didn't!)

LindyD's picture
LindyD

Always use cold water.  Hot water will cook the dough particles and turn them into lumps.  I wouldn't bother with that wire mesh drain screen.  Oxo makes a much better one out of silicone, which really cleans up easily as the dough particles won't stick to it.

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Silicone-Strainer/dp/B000U0K5PU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1362689071&sr=8-3&keywords=OXO+DRAIN+SCREEN

Welcome to TFL.

 

sunnspot9's picture
sunnspot9

I was washing discard down the drain and diluting with running warm or hot water, when someone else posted on here previously about this problem I started doing what mom used to do, using empty milk/orange juice/granola cartons like compost collectors, I dump discard in the carton and when it's full, it goes in the trash.

So far, I haven't seen the plumber here, hope I don't have too! :)