It’s Pancake Day, which means most people in the country will eat a pancake (or five) during some part of the day.
But there is one mistake you can make while preparing your meal that can end up costing you quite a lot of money.
If you’re like me and can never measure anything right (I still don’t know how to make the right amount of pasta for one), you’ll inevitably have some pancake batter leftover from your Pancake Day adventures.
And you might think nothing of pouring all of it down the kitchen sink. But that one mistake can cost you over £300 to fix.
According to plumbing experts at Rated People, pouring pancake mix down the drain can cause pipe bursts: “Pancake batter contains flour, fat and oil and this is a recipe for disaster when it comes to drains as it can quickly harden in pipes and lead to blockages and burst pipes which can be costly to repair.”
It can also cause complications in sewers, causing fatbergs to form in them. Fatbergs are formed when fat and grease combine with unflushable items (such as wet wipes and cotton buds), preventing water from going through.
Depending on how easy it is to access the pipe, the plumbing cost can be anywhere from £150 to £300, which is more than probably most of us may have bargained for while making pancakes.
“Leaking or fully burst pipes caused by increased pressure from blockages can cause damage to your property and possessions, which means fixing the broken pipework could only be part of the repair cost,” they say.
“Whether it’s a plastic or copper pipe, the solution will likely involve replacing the section of the pipe that’s damaged. Fixing a burst water pipe that’s easy to access will cost around £150, but with no visible access, the job is trickier and that can set you back by around £300 on average.”
So what can you do to avoid annihilating your drainage system when making pancakes? Some solutions include disposing the batter off in the food waste bin, freezing the batter to make it last for a good few months or making your own version of fish and chips takeaway.
And if none of this appeals to you, you can always turn the batter into Yorkshire pudding. At least it’s better than having to spend £300 in a cost of living crisis.