With kitchens working overtime during the holiday season, Aqua Pennsylvania is urging customers to think twice before pouring cooking grease down the drain.

Fats, oils and grease from festive meal preparation may flow easily when hot, but they cool and solidify inside pipes, creating blockages that can damage household plumbing and community wastewater systems. The buildup can trigger sewage backups and even cause overflows in local streets, according to the utility.

To keep pipes flowing freely, Aqua Pennsylvania recommends never pouring fats, oils or grease down sinks or toilets. Instead, leftover grease should cool in a metal can before being thrown in the trash.

Other preventive measures include using sink strainers to catch food scraps, scraping food waste and greasy residue into

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