The Holidays are a time of joy, giving, and love…and extreme stress. Family all comes together in one house to be together, to celebrate together, and to live together. This can often be stressful to not only you, but your plumbing as well.
If you have a house full of people (Mom, Dad, Uncle Bobby, Aunt Dakota, Cousin Tyler, and your sister Danielle) living amongst your immediate family for the holidays all of the sudden, your pipes may begin to get clogged or endure problems due the large amount of people using your facilities.
Between your daughter coming home from college and doing fifteen loads of laundry, Aunt Dakota taking thirty minute showers, your sister Danielle flushing hair that clogged the drain (in the shower) down the toilet, and your mom pouring three pounds of bacon grease down the disposal every morning, your pipes are enduring a LOT of stress.
Tips to keep your house from becoming a plumbing disaster during the holiday season are simple and easy to follow. First, try to keep as much grease, fat, and oil out of the drain. Save it, or let it cool and throw it into the trash can later. Pouring grease into the drain is asking for a disaster, especially with how much cooking happens during the holidays. Next, don’t put peels (such as potato peels) down the drain. Also, avoid putting any type of fruit or starchy foods into your disposal when cooking. Too much of this combination at one time can be detrimental to your plumbing. Lastly, never wait until the disposal is full to turn it on. Run it while running water, and then put food into it. This will prevent clogs very well.
If you are housing many people, wait ten minutes between each shower. This will give all of your pipes time to do their job-drain. If you do not wait at least ten minutes, you could experience serious clogging issues. Make sure that no person flushes hair down the toilet. Flushing things such as cotton balls and other miscellaneous bathroom items are also something to avoid. This will clog toilets very quickly.
Lastly, take care of your plumbing needs BEFORE everyone comes home to see each other for the holidays. Having to call a plumber while everyone is in the house will be much more of a hassle rather than calling a plumber before everyone gets to the house. If you have any problems with plumbing, get them fixed immediately instead of waiting.