simon@scottishplumber.com, Author at Scottish Plumber

Don’t Put it Down Your Drain: Paint

If you’ve just finished painting a room in your home and have some leftover paint you don’t want to keep, or you just found a stash of half-full paint cans in your basement and want to dispose of them…DON’T pour them down the drain- any drain in your home.

Paint is highly flammable and dangerous to add to your plumbing system where its fumes can release into all parts of the house, or the paint can even ignite. Paint will coat the insides of your pipes, shrinking them down and causing materials to build up and clog your drains.

Do not throw the paint cans away or pour them into a city or storm drain either- they can easily leak or leech into the water supply or contaminate the ground. Check with your local city municipality for a safe place to dispose of paint- there are plenty of facilities that accept all types of household chemicals and paints for safe disposal or even recycling. Some hardware stores or paint stores may also have this information.

For cleaning up after painting, follow the directions on the side of the paint can. Usually, for water-based or latex paints, it’s safe to scrape as much excess paint as possible into some newspapers. Let the paint dry on the newspapers before throwing them into the garbage. Then you can wash the roller and brush with warm soapy water. With enough water running to dilute it, the paint can be washed down a drain safely.

However, oil-based or alkyd paints aren’t soluble with water and require paint thinner to clean the utensils. Follow the directions on the side of the cans for these types of paints. (Usually they instruct to soak or rinse the brushes and rollers with paint thinner into another can, seal it, then take it to a hazardous waste depot.) Also- marine or auto body paint may contain lead- so always check the labels of paints and follow their disposal directions carefully.

Also, if you have excess paint you want to dispose of but it’s still fresh enough to use, try finding someone who could use it, before disposing of it. Check with your neighbors, local businesses, colleagues at work, a church or youth group, or any place in your community where you can donate it and it can still be used to paint something!

Unclog your dishwasher

Like any clog, a clogged dishwasher starts with some troubleshooting. There are a few different reasons why a dishwasher can clog, and some of them are simple enough for you to unclog yourself. One of the most common causes of a clogged dishwasher is simply some debris in or on the drain. Let’s start there.

Look for the drain on the bottom of the inside of the dishwasher. Remove the racks if you need to get to it, and make sure the dishwasher has been off for a while and the heating elements are off and have completely cooled so you do not burn yourself. Check to see if there is any debris (such as food from dirty plates placed in the dishwasher) on the drain blocking its flow and remove it. The dishwasher may also have a plastic or metal strainer (which is usually in two parts)- check this for debris, and remove it and clean it off if this is the source of the problem.

If debris is completely visible in these two places, try removing the drain port cover and thread a slim rod or straightened coat hanger a few inches into the drain, to see if you can remove some built-up grease, food, or other debris.

If the clog has not been found, try checking the draining hose itself. Remove the bottom panel of the dishwasher to find the drain hose. If it is folded, has a kink in it or you can see trapped debris in it, do your best to straighten the hose out and untangle it. If it’s too tangled or has a large clog, you can easily and inexpensively replace this hose.

Remember to rinse food off your dishes before placing them in a dishwasher to keep it from turning into debris that can clog the drain.

MacCinnamon Honey Scones

This particular scone is a flaky scone, crispy around the edges, with a more biscuit-like texture and flavor. With cinnamon sprinkled on top and a slight honey flavor, it’s a Highland favorite.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold butter
1 egg, separated into the white and the yoke
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon water
Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (or make it by mixing 2 tablespoons granulated sugar with ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender/ dough blender, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with the honey and buttermilk until blended. Add this to the flour mixture, blending lightly just until the mixture clings together.

With floured hands, lightly shape the dough into a flattened ball. Roll it out on a floured surface into a circle about ½ inch thick. Using a floured knife, cut into 8 to 12 wedges. Place on a greased or non-stick baking sheet, or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg white with the water. Brush the scones lightly with the egg white, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake until golden brown (about 10 to 12 minutes), then serve warm.