The turkey is in the oven slowly roasting, your out-of-town guests are chatting in the living room and your family and friends are slowly trickling in with freshly baked goods when suddenly, the doorbell rings. Who could it be? Your neighbor perhaps? Nope! It’s your plumber! “Okay, who invited the plumber?” you ask. Well, since your plumbing system is taking on an extra heavy load, he thought he would save you some time and trouble and simply be on standby at your home when the inevitable plumbing issue arises.
There is no use fighting it. It’s more likely than not you’ll experience some form of plumbing problem during this busy holiday season. In fact, every year we see emergency plumbing issues spike during this busy Thanksgiving holiday. The fact of the matter is that your drains can only take so much from your kitchen sink and let’s not forget your restrooms either! Your plumbing system will be working overtime and if your pipes are old, have buildup and are not in tip-top shape, then you better make some room at the dinner table and keep your plumber handy!
Want to avoid a visit from one of your local plumber during your holiday feast? Here are a few suggestions:
Avoid tossing scraps and food particles down your drain.
In the midst of all the pealing, chopping and straining over or next your kitchen sink there is bound to be some food scraps that will make there way down your drain. Try to keep this to a minimum or simply avoid it all together by doing all of your prep work away from the sink. All those scraps can potentially to get stuck somewhere down the line and cause a back-up.
Make sure to continuously run cold water as the garbage disposal is running.
This will help the breakdown of food and make any fats and oils solidify which will help the blades cut grease into small pieces.
Give your shower a break.
Ask your guests to leave a 10 to 15 minute gap in between showers. This will allow the flow of water to run smoothly without overwhelming your plumbing system.
Avoid using “disposable” wipes.
With additional guests staying in your home the risk of a clogged toilet increases dramatically and even more so when guests use “disposable” cleansing wipes. No matter what the packaging says, those “disposable” cleansing wipes will not break down like regular toilet paper. In fact, tests have proven that they do not dissolve at all which may lead to major sewer backup.
Overall, the best advice we can give to avoid a major plumbing disaster during your Thanksgiving holiday weekend is to prepare ahead of time. If you know you’ve been experiencing some problems recently and have to not had these problems diagnosed or repaired, call your local plumber get your problems solved before your big feast!