Grease in pipe: hot or cold water for removal


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Old 07-24-16, 07:04 AM
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Grease in pipe: hot or cold water for removal

I was watching This Old House. Richard, the plumber said to use cold water when dealing with grease in the pipes. I have always heard to use hot water. Which is it?
 
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Old 07-24-16, 07:19 AM
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I have always heard cold water is better to push grease down the drain.
I'm not sure why, my thought was it would cause the grease to clump and make it's way further down the pipe, rather than lining the pipes with grease.
 
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Old 07-24-16, 07:20 AM
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I think cold. It will clump it and better chance of one clog being dislodged. Whereas hot water will spread the grease along the pipe and the surface will catch more debris.
 
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Old 07-24-16, 07:29 AM
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Exactly - if you use cold, the grease will harden right away and you may push those pieces down the drain. Use hot and they will harden somewhere down the line, potentially clogging the drain.
 
 

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