Yorkshire puddings are a firm favourite on roast dinners across the region, but Severn Trent is reminding customers that making them at home can cause serious problems for sewers if leftover batter and cooking fats aren’t disposed of properly.

With National Yorkshire Pudding Day taking place on Sunday, February 1st, the water and waste company is encouraging customers to make life a little “batter” by putting leftover Yorkshire pudding mix, fats, oils and greases (FOG) in the bin, rather than pouring them down the sink, to help prevent blockages.

Yorkshire pudding batter, along with the fats, oils and greases left over from roast dinners, can solidify in pipes once they cool. 

When combined with other unflushable items such as wet wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products, they can form stubborn fatbergs that block sewers, leading to flooding in homes and communities.

Severn Trent is once again urging customers to ‘be a binner, not a blocker’, and to share simple kitchen advice with friends, family and neighbours as they enjoy roast dinners over the weekend.

Simple steps to protect the home and pipes include:

• Wipe plates, pans and trays with kitchen roll to remove grease (and gravy!) before washing up or loading into the dishwasher

• Collect used cooking oil, fat and grease in a jar, container or tin and put it in the bin once cooled

• If there are any leftovers, remember to bin them before starting your washing up, and use a sink strainer to catch any last bits

Grant Mitchell, Sewer Blockages Lead at Severn Trent, said: “With National Yorkshire Pudding Day just around the corner, we want customers to stop and think about what they’re pouring down their drains and where it ends up.

“Yorkshire pudding batter, along with leftover fats, oils and greases from roast dinners, can cause real problems if they’re washed down the sink instead of being binned.

“When FOG combines with other items that shouldn’t be flushed, like wet wipes and sanitary products, it quickly hardens in pipes, creating fatbergs and blockages. These can lead to unpleasant and costly flooding in people’s homes, something no one wants to deal with.”

Last year alone, Severn Trent cleared nearly 30,000 blockages, many caused by items that should never have gone down the loo or sink.   

In total, they also removed 20 million litres of fats, oils and greases (FOG) from the sewers, which is enough to fill six Olympic-sized swimming pools! 

For more tips on how to prepare your home for winter, visit www.stwater.co.uk/my-supply/wintertogether