Thanksgiving Plumbing Tips For Your Home
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, you may be busy preparing to entertain your friends and family. Worrying about your home’s plumbing and drain systems should be last on your list of to-do’s. To keep your home’s plumbing running smoothly and drains flowing, and to avoid any last-minute problems for you or your guests, read some of these tips from the service professionals at Lancaster Plumbing Heating Cooling & Electrical.
Avoid Throwing Leftovers in the Sink
Most Thanksgiving leftovers can easily clog sinks if they’re thrown down the drain. While our technicians can unclog drains effectively and efficiently, avoiding putting certain foods down your drain can prevent a clog altogether. Foods such as grease, fibrous vegetables, potato peels, rice, pasta, eggshells, and large bones from the turkey or any other meat should be discarded in the trash, not down your drain.
Any grease should be wiped clean with a paper towel and thrown in the trash; and once you’re done with the wishbone, be sure to throw it in there too!
Use The Garbage Disposal
If you do put food down the garbage disposal, make sure to run it before putting food in it. You should also turn the water on so the drain can fill with water before using it, and keep it running after putting food in it. That will encourage any waste inside the drain to run down without being clogged. Some drain-safe Thanksgiving foods include very small vegetable scraps, small pieces of cooked turkey, and any soft foods.
Use a Sink Strainer
Using a sink strainer while washing dishes is a great way to prevent clogging. Simply put it over your drain, and it will collect chunks of food as you’re washing dishes to keep them from falling into the disposal. Once you’re done with dishes, anything that was gathered in the strainer can simply be thrown out or composted. This is an easy way to prevent a pesky plumbing issue.
Make Sure Guests Know What Can and Can’t be Flushed
With more people in your household, there’s a higher chance of the potential of a toilet clog. However, they can be avoided by reminding your guests not to flush wet wipes down the toilet, as they can easily clog it. Other items that should never be thrown down the toilet include cotton balls, q-tips, tissues, feminine products, paper towels, and makeup remover wipes. Having easily accessible garbage cans in your bathroom can remind them not to flush anything aside from toilet paper!
Schedule a Maintenance Check
Forgetting to schedule preventive maintenance or necessary repairs for your plumbing and drains can be detrimental to your systems. Make sure your sinks and showers have hot running water as they should, your heating system and furnace are working to ensure all guests are comfortable and warm, your toilets are flushing as they should, and your air quality is safe and hazard-free for your friends and family.
Lancaster Plumbing Heating Cooling & Electrical is committed to servicing your residential HVAC needs year-round. For drain cleaning in Lancaster, PA, and for more information about how we can help get your home ready for the upcoming holiday season, call us today.