The Right Way to Donate After Spring-Cleaning Donate With Care Attack of the Clogs
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR DRAINS GET BACKED UP
Spring is in the air, and it’s time to celebrate with another round of spring-cleaning. Banish
the clutter and make room in your life for something new! Many charities see a sharp increase in donations as spring-cleaning season starts. Donating your used books, kids’ toys, and gently worn clothing allows your old items to have a second life. However, when filling that donation box, make sure you’re donating each item because it can do good and not just because you feel bad about throwing it away.
Most drain cleaners are made up of harsh chemicals you want nowhere near your skin or eyes. Some of these drain cleaners can even eat their way right through clothing. And yet, many homeowners rely on these harsh cleaners to clear their sink, shower, and bathtub drains. There’s no denying that many of these cleaners work well. They are a modern solution for an age-old problem. After all, no one wants to take a shower in a lukewarm puddle. Between the sinks in your home and the shower, there is a lot of potential for clogging. You have food particles that get washed down the kitchen sink and hair that gets trapped in the shower drain. But a clogged drain can be prevented. It’s all about being proactive. Ideally, you never want to wash food down the drain, even if you have a garburator. Despite the convenience of the garburator, it should be used on a limited basis and not as an alternative to throwing food into the trash or compost. In the shower, it’s always a good idea to clear away any excess hair that has accumulated on the drain as soon as you get out of the shower. This especially applies to anyone with longer hair, as longer hair is a bigger contributor to the everyday shower clog than anything else. Of course, even with preventative measures, you may still end up with a clog. We know how harsh traditional drain cleaners can be, which is why we offer Lewis MacLean BioSmart. It’s safe, effective, and will make quick work of your average drain clog.
Charities have a big problem with well- meaning citizens dropping off items that are
better left in the trash. There are many items charities simply cannot handle. Most charities will have lists of items they can and cannot accept on their websites. Some items that you should not donate include:
• Expired medications • Old TVs • Cribs
• Mattresses • Carpets • Tangled cords or phone chargers • Any broken, damaged, or dirty items
• Loose remote controls • Personal care items, like soap, shampoo, or makeup
These items may be unsafe to sell, costly to ship, or impossible to refurbish effectively. When a charity regularly receives items they cannot use, they have to spend hours of manpower sorting through things that end up in the trash anyway. This process can be expensive for organizations with already-strained resources. Some local charities spend over $1,000 a year on dumpster and trash removal fees for unusable donations. While charities will have no choice but to throw unusable donations in the trash, there are services you can use to make your spring-cleaning eco-friendly, even for items you can’t donate. For example, if you have torn or stained blue jeans, reach out to Blue Jeans Go Green. This program keeps denim out of landfills by turning it into insulation. And while Goodwill can’t take your batteries or old flip phone, you can check out Call2Recycle.org to learn how to safely recycle your e-waste.
Not all clogs are created equal; sometimes you need to call in the pros when the drain cleaner fails. You can count on your 24-hour residential plumbing experts to find the blockage and eliminate it, restoring your home’s plumbing back to normal.
Your donations can be a big help to local charities. Just don’t “donate” your garbage.
2 • www.lewismaclean.com
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