The holidays are a time for families to come together and celebrate love and joy. Unfortunately, it can be a stressful time as well. If you’re having family over, the last thing you need is a plumbing disaster on your hands!
To avoid a plumbing emergency, follow these holiday plumbing tips. You can then forget about potential disasters and focus on the good times this season brings!
Holiday Plumbing Tips
Avoid pouring liquid fats and grease down your drain. As these cool, they will congeal and clog up your drain. To dispose of any oils, fats or grease from cooking, pour them into a container to throw away later. If still hot, pour the oils into an empty glass jar, such as an old applesauce or spaghetti sauce container.
Take care of your garbage disposal by only putting disposal safe foods down the drain. This includes avoiding stringy foods, such as pumpkin pulp or potato peels, poultry skin, bones and coffee grounds.
You should also flush your garbage disposal with cold water before using. Let the cold water flow for approximately 10-15 seconds before using your garbage disposal.
Show your toilet some love by only flushing waste and toilet paper down the toilet. Ask your family to be careful what they flush and provide a trash bin near the toilet for people to dispose of non-flushable items.
Don’t overexert your water heater with too many showers back to back. If you’re going to have a lot of people staying at your house, plan a shower schedule ahead of time and give your water heater at least 10 minutes between each shower to recover.
Prevent frozen pipes with precautions such as insulating pipes in areas of the home with less heat and drain and disconnect outdoor hoses. Having a frozen or busted pipe can put a damper on anyone’s holiday.
If you do experience a plumbing emergency during the holidays, call Hanna Plumbing & Heating. We have expert plumbing technicians available who can get your mind off your plumbing and back to enjoying your holiday!
