Fact: The day after Thanksgiving is often the busiest day of the year for plumbers – twice as busy as any other day of the year, even more so than Hanukkah and Christmas! What most people call Black Friday, we call Brown Friday (and yes, it is because of exactly what you’re thinking…). With so many family and friends in town for the holiday, the plumbing system is under more demand and can simply get overloaded.
No one wants to follow a Thanksgiving feast with a plumbing disaster. Here are a few helpful tips from Nebrasky Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, Inc. that you should keep in mind during the holiday feast prep and cleanup to keep drains and disposals unclogged.
- NEVER Pour oil and grease down drains.
- Oil and grease are two of the biggest culprits of clogged kitchen sinks. These liquids solidify and harden in your pipes, creating quite the nasty build-up. Instead, be sure to use a paper towel to wipe grease and oil from the pots and pans you used to cook your delicious feast before washing them.
- Use your garbage disposal properly.
- Garbage disposals aren’t trash cans! They’re handy tools for the scraps left on your plate, but you should never throw whole food waste into it. Turkey bones are especially damaging to garbage disposals.
- If you DO use your garbage disposal during Thanksgiving, be sure to run COLD water, not hot water. Leave the water running before you turn it on, while you’re using it, and even for a few seconds after you’ve turned it off.
- Space out your showers.
- Part of the magic of Thanksgiving is stuffing your loved ones with so much food, they fall into a food coma before the pumpkin pie is even served. Overnight guests are to be expected! Even with a jam-packed house, make sure your guests are spacing out their shower times. You should wait 10-15 minutes between each shower to let the drains clear properly. A shower schedule never hurt anybody, right?
- Don’t Flush ANYTHING that’s not toilet paper.
- The only thing going down your toilet this Thanksgiving should be good old-fashioned toilet paper. We don’t care if it says “flushable”; it’s still not safe! Sanitary napkins, feminine products, paper towels, cleaning wipes, cotton balls, and cotton pads should never be flushed down the toilet. Be sure to set out an extra garbage can in your bathroom for your guests to dispose of unneeded items.
- Address plumbing problems BEFORE the Thanksgiving holiday.
- It may be too little, too late now, but don’t drag your feet on fixing your plumbing problems. If you notice your kitchen sink is clogged, your garbage disposal is acting up, or your bathtub is draining very slowly, you should call a plumber to address it BEFORE the holiday get-together!
That being said, sometimes life just happens! If you find yourself in need of emergency plumbing services this Thanksgiving weekend, you know who to call! Nebrasky Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers emergency service Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Save Nebrasky’s emergency services line down in your phone (you never know when you’ll need it): 800-796-6853.