With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the stress that your pipes will be under through all of the holiday excitement so that you can make preparations. Taking precautions with your plumbing system is a must this time of year, as Thanksgiving is the single busiest day of the year for emergency residential plumbing calls. In fact, plumbing issues in general spike by more than 50 percent the day after turkey day! And, when you think about how your pipes are likely to be working overtime with all of the kitchen activity and guests in your home, it’s easy to see why. Sure, you get to indulge in a delicious holiday feast with loved ones, but at the end of the day, your drains are faced with greasy dishes and other food waste that can clog up your drains.
So, how can you prep your home to make it safely through Thanksgiving Day? Here are some tips:
- Watch what you put down the drain – After a long day of cooking, it’s easy to just throw those leftovers down the drain, but this is not only wasteful, it’s a sure way to clog your drain. So, instead, make sure your leftovers make their way into the trash can or into the compost pile to avoid pipe blockages. For those food items that can be put down your disposal, be sure to do so slowly so that you don’t overload the system and your pipes. And, above all else, make sure that no cooking oils or fats are poured down your drains. Remember, these will solidify in your pipes and will create blockages. Instead, to get rid of grease, use a paper towel, then throw it in the trash.
- Check your garbage disposal – This tip is one that many homeowners tend to forget about, but when you dispose of food down your drain, your disposal should be running before food is put into it. If you don’t have it on, you can clog it before it’s even had a chance to be put into action. You should also make sure to turn on your faucet to allow the drain to fill with water before you dispose of food in it, as well as for a short time after you flip the disposal off. This will help ensure that nothing gets backed up in your pipes.
- Use a strainer – If you don’t already have a sink strainer, get one now, as this is the best way to prevent clogging in the first place. Strainers allow water to run down your pipes while trapping all of those food particles and leftovers. Then, you can simply throw away whatever trash is caught in the strainer.
- Wait between showers – If you’re hosting guests for the holiday, it’s a good idea to advise them to wait several minutes between showers. This allows time for lost hair and soap residue to disperse and move through your pipes. If the hair that goes down your drain doesn’t have adequate time to move through, it will surely clog and backup your pipes. Of course, the best way to ensure this doesn’t happen in the first place is to get a drain strainer for each bathroom for a quick, easy and stress-free clean.
- Get your pipes checked early – Now is the time to have your plumbing and drains checked before the big day. Trust us, you don’t want to wait until Thanksgiving Day when all of your guests are in your home to find out that there’s something wrong with your plumbing. So, give us a call to schedule a system check to ensure that everything’s in top working condition.
Plumbers Open on Thanksgiving
Make sure that your home is prepared for a smooth and happy holiday so that you can enjoy spending time with your loved ones instead of worrying about messy plumbing emergencies. If you do run into trouble, though, we’ll be here! We are one of few Chicagoland plumbers open on Thanksgiving. So, give us a call!
