Some holiday traditions are winners: exchanging Advent calendars with long-distance friends, for instance, or maybe making a new photo album to commemorate the year. But there are plenty of holiday happenings that you definitely do not want to repeat, whether they’re ill-received new recipes or appliance snafus. One other tradition you’ll never want to add to your list? “Brown Friday,” aka the day after Thanksgiving when plumbers say they get the most calls for emergency repairs out of any day of the year. (Yep, the name “Brown Friday” refers to the backed-up gunk you’ll need a pro to handle … it’s just as gross as it sounds!)
According to home repair site Angi (formerly known as Angie’s List), calls to plumbers increase by 25% the week of Thanksgiving, and 14% the week after. That’s because all the extra use of your plumbing fixtures — like cooking your meal and guests using your showers, baths, and toilets — can put extra stress on your pipes if you’re not careful about what goes into them.
A recent survey of homeowners by Angi also showed that 40% of plumbing issues after Thanksgiving were caused by clogged kitchen sinks, thanks most often to food waste going into the sink or disposal that doesn’t belong there. While you can’t prevent every issue, a few best practices can help you become one of the reported 26% of homeowners who experience plumbing issues after hosting Thanksgiving:
Don’t Use the Garbage Disposal as a Catch-All
While garbage disposals are handy for grinding up and flushing away plenty of food types, they won’t work for everything. To prevent clogs and breaks, never put these items down the disposal:
Never Put Grease Down the Sink
While plenty of oils remain liquid at room temperature — like olive oil and avocado oil, for instance — grease from cooking meat congeals when it cools. That means that even if it’s liquid when you pour it down the drain, it’s going to solidify further down your pipes (and cause a nasty clog).
Instead of dumping grease down the drain, pour it into a disposable container like an aluminum can, let it cool, then toss it in the garbage.
Only Flush Toilet Paper Down the Toilet
While your immediate family might know not to flush wipes or paper towels down the toilet, guests may not. Don’t give them the chance to make that mistake by removing anything that isn’t toilet paper from the bathroom.
Keeping the wastebaskets empty will also help ensure that guests use them instead of the toilet for disposal.
Remember to keep a plunger on hand just in case! But if you don’t have one, here’s how you can unclog a toilet without a plunger — try this before you spring for emergency-hours plumbing help.
