If you had to guess which day of the year is the busiest for plumbers, what would you say? If the first thing that popped into your mind was a major holiday, you’re on the right path. In fact, the busiest day of the year for plumbers is often the day after Thanksgiving.
With the heartiness of the meals prepared in kitchens across the US, your drains pay the price. Why not avoid having to call us for Atlanta plumbing repair the day after Thanksgiving–or even worse–on Thanksgiving itself? No one wants their day ruined by a flooded kitchen sink or stinky drains.
To avoid seeing us over the holidays, take 5 minutes to read the 3 tips below on how to get your plumbing system ready for the holiday season or any time of year when you use your kitchen a lot.
1. Don’t Put These Things Down the Kitchen Sink
When you’ve got a lot of cooking to do, it can be tempting to dispose of things like fats, potato peels, the ends of green beans, onion peels, and turkey bones down the drain. However, these things will wreak havoc on your garbage disposal and kitchen drains.
To avoid walking to the garbage can often while you’re busy with meal prep, keep a large bowl on the counter where you’re working. You can use that to dump kitchen scraps in one convenient place.
2. Safely Dispose of FOGs (Fats, Oils, Grease)
Turkey juices, gravy, bacon grease, butter, and olive oil will help make your Thanksgiving feast extra delicious. They’ll also leave a huge mess on your pots, pyrex, and pans. Avoid putting leftover fats, oils, or grease down the kitchen sink. Fats may seem like a liquid now, but once they reach the cold depths of your pipes, they’ll solidify, causing a clog.
Instead, pour all the leftover grease into an empty aluminum can. (You might have an empty tin of canned cranberry sauce. Don’t worry, we love canned cranberry sauce too.) When it’s time to clean all that cookware, don’t rinse off the grease in the sink. Wipe down cookware with paper towels, removing as much of the grease as you can, and then toss those in the trash.
3. Know How to Use Your Garbage Disposal
Let’s face it, it’s not like most homeowners ever receive a lesson on how to use their garbage disposals. Here are a few tips you might not be aware of. But Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where strategic garbage disposal usage is essential.
Don’t wait until the disposal has accumulated a lot of food waste to turn it on. Use it throughout the day to avoid a buildup. Also, turn the garbage disposal on before putting food in. Turn on the faucet to let the sink fill with some water before adding the food scraps. Let the water run for a few seconds after turning the disposal off.
Also refrain from running the dishwasher until you’re done using the garbage disposal. The dishwasher and garbage disposal share a drain. That means if you run them both at the same time, you run the risk of food scraps mixing into your wash cycle.
Contact HM Plumbing today to discuss residential plumbing in Atlanta, GA. Serving with Integrity.