Groundsless

  In the Plumbers Bible in the section on plugged drains it says, “It’s not a question ‘if’ a kitchen sink drain will clog up, but ‘when’”.

  About 15 years ago our kitchen sink started clogging up. We tried Draino, we cleaned the trap under the sink, we put a wire snake down the pipe, but it kept getting worse. Finally we called the plumber. I was at work when he came so I don't know how he opened the drain. He left a bill for $70 and I resolved to put our next drain clog as far in the future as possible.

  My first line of defense was a mesh screen in the drain. This screen can be periodically cleaned into the compost pot. Of course we don't pour bacon grease down the drain. Who does that? Despite my efforts, I know a sandbar of sludge is slowly building downstream. My goal is to prevent debris from lodging there.

  One problem area is coffee grounds. We use an ancient percolator to make coffee. It's a beautiful stainless steel pot. You can see the coffee beating against the glass knob as the percolator groans and wheezes its way to completion. The only thing that can go bad is the heating element in the base, which was made in the good old USA back when things were made to last.

  But the grounds! They make a mess. When making coffee I line the basket with a paper filter. Half the time all the grounds stay in the filter for easy removal. The other half of the time the grounds scatter all over the basket. It's a mystery. I wipe out the basket, but some ground always make it down. Not a lot of grounds, but still... I'm guessing a visit by the plumber is a lot more than $70 dollars these days.

 A year ago I went on a grounds containment mission. I stated using two paper filters. I put filters above and below the grounds. I put filters above and below the grounds and one more on top of the whole basket assembly. My success rate remained fifty-fifty. 

  People asked why we didn't move on to a Mr. Coffee. Grounds disposal would be much neater and didn't we realize percolators destroy any flavor notes in the coffee by boiling the coffee over and over. That's true and we will get a Mr. Coffee as soon as the element burns out on our percolator. 

  It was while using a mini-coffee maker in a motel room that I had my eureka moment. The coffee grounds were contained in a sealed filter pack. Once back home I put the coffee onto a filter, rolled it up and taped it shut. The coffee was too watery. So I divided the grounds into two packets. The coffee got cooked, but tasted of tape. I switched to staples. Yay! Sumatra, we have coffee! I was able to lift the grounds in their little packets out of the basket and drop them into the compost. I could not be more satisfied, though some of our guests have mentioned notes of staple.

 

Before

Perfetto!