Do you know what the busiest day of year is for professional plumbers? The day after Thanksgiving. The toughest shopping day of the year is also when many homeowners discover they’ve got a plumbing nightmare. This makes sense: the house is packed with guests—more than a home experiences during the December holidays, most likely—and the kitchen plumbing, especially the sink and garbage disposal, are under assault from food preparation. Most parts of the plumbing get used to their fullest, increasing the chances that something will go wrong.
We want you to enjoy a great Thanksgiving this year with worry-free plumbing in Burlington, VT. Below are a few tips to make everything go smoother:
Have drain cleaning done before the big day
Drain cleaning doesn’t have to be a repair. It can be a prevention tool. Before you put your kitchen sink through the paces of all the grease and other food leftovers of Thanksgiving, schedule an appointment to have a professional to come out and thoroughly clean the drain interiors. Cleared-out and cleaned-up drains make it tough for clogs to form even under the worst circumstances.
Space out the showers
Tell your guests who are staying over for the weekend to stagger their shower times with a gap of about 15 minutes. This not only allows hot water to build up, but it also helps with the drains, giving them time to clear. Showers are when the most water will end up going into the wastewater system.
Arrange for plumbing repairs ahead of time
Is there some minor irritation in your household plumbing you haven’t gotten around to repairing? A leaky faucet, a slow drain, a garbage disposal that won’t work as well as it once did? Now is the time to call for professional plumbers and get the trouble fixed. You may be looking at a major disaster once the house is full of people.
Be good to the garbage disposal
No other part of residential plumbing faces a bigger challenge during Thanksgiving than the underappreciated sink disposal. Please give your garbage disposal some thought this year—by which we mean don’t use it for actual garbage! Only food items can go into the disposal. Also beware of pouring fats, oils, and grease into the disposal; keep out turkey bones and other hard food leftovers; and don’t put fibrous foods like onion skins and asparagus down the disposal either.
Remind guests about what can’t go down the toilet
Give everyone a simple rule: “toilet paper only.” We even recommend putting up little reminder signs. So-called “flushable wipes” and other moist towelettes are nightmares for drainage systems. Paper towels and Kleenex are also bad news, because they’re absorbent and swell inside the plumbing. Other no-nos includes cotton swabs, cotton balls, sanitary napkins, and cigarettes. Ask adults with young children to make sure their kids don’t go into the bathroom with toys that might get dropped into the toilet.
We hope you have trouble-free Thanksgiving with your plumbing. Our team is here to help when you need us.
Call the Red Rock Mechanical, LLC plumbers for service in Northwest Vermont and Northeast New York.
