Thanksgiving and the day after are very busy days for plumbers. So busy in fact, people in the biz call Black Friday, “Brown Friday.”
“It’s day that we see 50 percent more service calls in our plumbing companies than you do during other days of the year,” said Vicky Heydon, general manager at South West Plumbing.
When things get hectic in the kitchen at Thanksgiving, you might be tempted to put things down the disposal. But South West says the disposal can handle a lot less than you might expect. One frequent call out they get is because of egg shells down the drain – which calcifies, or a big piece can get stuck.
“It’s a common reason we hydro jet people’s houses,” Heydon said.
She says people also put lemons down the disposal, thinking it’s going to clean and freshen up those drains. However, the disposal doesn’t always chop up those items into small pieces – instead, just small enough to go down the drain.
The problem is that the drain pipe at your sink is 3.5 inches. Then it immediately narrows into a 1.5-inch pipe – that means a clog.
Another big problem is rice and pasta. Those food items expand when they get wet, causing clogs.
Plus, fatty foods like gravy are a big no-no for your sink. The fat cools and hardens and gets stuck in the p-trap.
“High fat content and starch content. And then again, chicken, turkey, none of this can go down the drain ever, on any, any circumstance,” Heydon said.
Their tip is to keep food out of the drain all together -- and make sure your guests know.
And have plenty of trash cans around, so your well-meaning family members can scrape their plates into the garbage, and not the sink.
After the big holiday, there’s “Brown Friday.” That’s when all those guests at your house bring on a big plumbing problem.
“Everyone’s using the bathroom obviously, so your toilets get a little bit more stressed than they typically would,” Heydon said. “It’s not pretty.”
South West Plumbing says issues are almost always caused by things that aren’t toilet paper going down the toilet. Remember, even paper towels don’t dissolve like toilet paper and can cause a clog.
Wipes that say “flushable” still should not be flushed - it just takes too long to break down.
Finally - what about something like Drano or a snake for those Thanksgiving plumbing problems?
They say the use of chemicals over time can corrode your pipes. A snake might work for you, but it also could just push the clog down further.
You can always call in the experts, but this Thanksgiving, prevention is best.
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