{"id":2152160,"date":"2025-06-13T12:17:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T17:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=2152160"},"modified":"2025-06-13T00:31:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T05:31:41","slug":"sourdough-starter-down-the-drain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/sourdough-starter-down-the-drain\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Why You Should Never Pour Sourdough Starter Down the Drain"},"content":{"rendered":"I'm probably not alone in confessing that when I'm baking, dirty dishes are scattered everywhere, and the kitchen looks like a whirlwind. So one afternoon, in the midst of mixing sourdough bread<\/a>, I quickly rinsed a bowl of excess sourdough starter without thinking. Bad idea. The sink immediately gurgled up, filling with cloudy water that would not drain. Gulp!\r\n\r\nAt first, I blamed my 1920s-era bungalow for the snafu, but after some post-disaster research, it turns out that you should never pour sourdough starter down the drain. Period. This is the case for any type of sink and any type of sourdough (I'm actually a gluten-free baker<\/a>, and it was still a disaster).\r\n

Why shouldn't you put sourdough starter down the drain?<\/h2>\r\nThe main ingredients of sourdough starter<\/a> are flour, water and yeast. (Just because it's natural yeast doesn't mean it's any better for sinks.) Here's the problem: flour, mixed with water, turns into a gluey substance that is so thick it can clog drains instantly. That's what happened to me. I was lucky that a magic mix of baking soda and boiling water<\/a> was able to dissolve the clog, but others might have to call in a plumber.\r\n\r\nHere's another scenario: the starter may seem<\/em> to go down the drain. But it's so thick, it will coat the inside of the pipes. The sticky, gooey starter will capture all the gunk that sneaks down the drain, from food particles to bits of hair and grease. Over time, that will lead to a seriously stubborn clog.\r\n

How do you get rid of extra starter?<\/h2>\r\nTurns out, even small amounts of starter can cause major trouble. If you've dried out some starter, that's not safe to rinse either. As soon as it gets wet, it'll cause the same issues.\r\n\r\nUse up extra starter by stirring it into sourdough discard recipes<\/a> like pancake batter or pizza dough. Even if it's not enough starter to leaven, or raise, the dough, it will impart a tangy, complex flavor. You can also save sourdough starter in the refrigerator, where it will keep for several days. At that point, you can feed the starter, stirring in fresh water and flour, and use it to bake another batch of bread.\r\n\r\nIf you just need to ditch the starter, use a spatula to scrape it into the garbage can or compost bin.\r\n\r\nRelated:\r\n