Thanksgiving Plumbing Tips

Thanksgiving just around the corner. You are likely to soon be spending hours on hours preparing a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and cleaning every inch of your home for your soon to be guest. The last thing you need on your growing to-do list is to hear that the kitchen sink or shower is clogged. Turkey Day plumbing problems are surprisingly very common, in fact, the day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest day of the year for residential plumbers. To avoid adding a plumber to your holiday guest list, follow these Thanksgiving Plumbing Tips.

1. Have Your Plumbing Checked Out Before Thanksgiving It can be tempting to put off plumbing or drain issues until after the holidays. But this Thanksgiving plumbing tip is so easy. — Before the holiday festivities start — to check for leaky toilets or clogged drains. This will keep a simple plumbing problem from turning into something more serious.

2. Your Garbage Disposal is NOT a Garbage Bag If you get stuck with the dreaded kitchen cleanup duty, it can be tempting to just toss the leftovers from everyone’s plates down the drain and call it a day. But throwing leftovers down the drain could overwhelm the kitchen’s plumbing and could result in a clog. To prevent nasty clogs from ruining the holiday festivities, throw the leftovers in the compost pile or in the garbage instead. You can see a list of items that you should never put down the garbage disposal here in our blog Ah- Pasta! 3. Run the Garbage Disposal Regularly While we are talking about garbage disposals. Another mistake that can clog your drain is not turning the disposal on before putting food into it. To avoid this plumbing issues, make sure to turn on the faucet to allow the drain to fill with water before you put any food into it. Keep the water running for a short time, maybe a minute, after turning it off so the waste won’t clog the drain.

4.Wait to Use Your Dishwasher Did you know your dishwasher and garbage disposal share the same drain? It’s important to keep this in mind before running your next load of thanksgiving dishes and silverware. Running your garbage disposal while your dishwasher is running can mean food waste can end up in your wash cycle. It’s also important to realize that if you are experiencing a garbage disposal issue—like a blockage—it’s important not to run your dishwasher. Doing so could result in a major issue…. Flooding!

5. Cut Down on Shower Time If you are having guests staying overnight, spread showers out throughout the day so you can maintain hot water. Waiting at least 10 to 15 minutes between each shower will also allow your pipes a chance to filter out hair and avoid clogs. If you have a traditional water heater, cutting down on your time in the shower will make sure that everyone in the house gets a hot shower.

6. Avoid Flushing Anything But Toilet Paper Hosting Thanksgiving dinner means that your bathrooms will experience a heavier than normal amount of traffic. The best way to avoid toilet clogs is by watching what goes down your toilet. The only items that should be flushed down a toilet are toilet paper and human waste. Everything else — such as flushable wipes (no, they’re actually not flushable!), wet wipes, feminine products, Q-tips, cotton balls, cigarette butts, hair, cat litter, or paper towels — needs to go in a trash can. If you follow these simple tips, you can avoid having a Thanksgiving week from hell. No one wants to invite a plumber to their Thanksgiving feast. Use these preventative Thanksgiving plumbing tips and you won’t miss out on any of those Black Friday deals!

Tualatin Valley Plumbing LLC proudly serves the Portland Metro area and more!

Including Beaverton, Clackamas, Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Troutdale, Tualatin, Tigard, Wilsonville, West Linn, Gladstone, Happy Valley, and Sherwood. As well as Boring, Canby, Damascus, Estacada, Newberg, and Sandy!

Full-scale residential plumbing, drain cleaning, water heaters, water service, gas line, re-pipe, and more!

Tualatin Valley Plumbing LLC proudly serves the Portland Metro area and more! Including Beaverton, Clackamas, Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Troutdale, Tualatin, Tigard, Wilsonville, West Linn, Gladstone, Happy Valley, and Sherwood. As well as Boring, Canby, Damascus, Estacada, Newberg, and Sandy!