Avoid Thanksgiving Plumbing Disasters

The day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days for plumbers, as it’s the day after your whole plumbing system receives a workout. Thanksgiving should be all about spending time with friends and family, watching football, and enjoying the crisp fall air. To avoid having to contact a plumber during the holidays, we’re offering some do’s and don’ts so that you can spend time with your loved ones instead of the plumber.

Why Do So Many Plumbing Issues Happen During Thanksgiving?

There are several reasons why plumbing issues are likely to occur during Thanksgiving, but some of the most common are:

● Extra people using your facilities. You may not realize that your drains are slow until there are additional people using your sinks, showers, and bathrooms.
● Guests not being aware that you don’t have a garbage disposal. Often, a house guest may help you with clean up and put food down the drain, not knowing that you don’t have a garbage disposal.
● Garbage disposal overload. A guest trying to clean up can end up clogging the garbage disposal by using it to get rid of ground coffee or other forbidden foods.

Avoid Having to Contact the Plumber in an Emergency

No one want to face a plumbing emergency during Thanksgiving, so in order to avoid having to call your local plumber, try doing some of the following:
Unclog drains before guests arrive: In the days before the arrival of your guests, check your pipes and pay attention to any drains that give you problems, or always seem to be clogged. Keep an ear out for strange gurgling sounds, and keep an eye out for standing water. If you see or hear anything that makes you believe you have a clogged drain, unclog it using an auger or a drain snake.
Ensure your bathroom garbage cans are visible to your guests: The garbage can in your bathroom should not be hidden under the sink, it should be in plain sight. Therefore, guests won’t flush down feminine products or cotton pads down your toilet as they can’t spot the garbage can. If you flush foreign objects down the toilet, it can cause it to clog rapidly and require the visit of a plumber.

Prep your garbage disposal by following these garbage disposal do’s and don’ts:
● Do run water for about a minute, flushing out any leftover grease.
● Don’t dump grease down the drain, as it will solidify, and running hot water afterward will not help.
● Do keep your water flowing whenever you are running the disposal.
● Don’t dispose of large amounts of food all at once
● Do put ice cubes down your garbage disposal, as they assist in sharpening your blades
● Don’t put fibrous food such as celery or potatoes, pasta, coffee, or rice in your disposal, as they are difficult to grind and can end up causing a blockage.
● Do deodorize your drains by putting in small pieces of lemon peel down your disposal.
● Don’t put bones down your disposal, as not only is it very hard to your ears; it also damages the blades.

Even by following all the precautions, things can still take a turn for the worse. If you have any plumbing emergencies, before, during, or after Thanksgiving, don’t hesitate to contact a professional plumber. They are there to help, and by leaving plumbing issues to be taken care of at a later date, they can only get worse, so don’t hesitate to call!

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