Leaders at some plumbing repair companies say they expect to be quite busy the day after Thanksgiving on a day they dub "Brown Friday."
Roto-Rooter said it experiences a 50% increase in call volume the day after Thanksgiving compared to an average Friday. The company also said it has a 21% uptick in business over any other four-day weekend period.
The company said Thanksgiving gatherings and meals can overload kitchen sinks, garbage disposals, toilets and main sewers.
"Extra guests mean more toilet flushes, showers, dishwasher and laundry loads, and garbage disposal usage. Simply put, Thanksgiving puts a heavy strain on American plumbing systems, and it keeps our plumbers super busy the next day," said Paul Abrams, Roto-Rooter spokesman.
Roto-Rooter issued the following tipsto prevent drain trouble during Thanksgiving weekend:
- Never pour grease, turkey drippings or cooking oil down drains. They solidify in pipes like candle wax and choke drains.
- Don't put potato peels, poultry skins, bones, rice or pasta down the garbage disposal. Disposals can handle small quantities of scraps, but most food should go into the trash can or compost pile.
- Make sure the garbage disposal is running when you add food scraps.
- Place plungers in guest bathrooms to save guests the embarrassment of asking for one.
- Spread out showers and laundry loads so pipes have time to drain.
ABC Action News also checked in with ABC Plumbing, Air & Heat in Clearwater. Joe Rayno said plumbing issues can eat up your time and money if you're not careful. He said grease seems to be the biggest culprit of Thanksgiving week.
"Grease is going to turn solid…it looks liquid in the pan, and then you put it in the pipe, and guess what, it turns solid again. Also, your potato peelings, celery peelings, anything that you peel that you think will go through your garbage disposal, yes, the garbage disposal can handle it, but your plumbing cannot," he explained.
Rayno also encouraged everyone to avoid putting bones down the disposal.
"The bare minimum should go down your drain," he added.
Plumbing experts told ABC Action News that if you do use your disposal, make sure to leave the water running and the disposal on for about a minute afterward to make sure all the food is flushed out.
"Even turkey skins and poultry skins, that can really jam up a garbage disposal," Rayno elaborated.
As for wet wipes, and even those wipes that claim to be "flushable," experts said toss those in the trash...never in your toilet. Although they may flush down, they're likely to get stuck in your pipes or clog up the city and county pumps.
