Plumbers have a nickname for the day after Thanksgiving: Brown Friday. Mr. Rooter says it's the company's busiest day of the year, and Roto-Rooter says its calls jump about 50% compared with a typical Friday, with the holiday weekend running about 21% busier than any other four-day weekend.
Yes, the name is what you think. But the bigger culprit is usually the kitchen. A day of cooking for a crowd sends more grease and food down the sink than the drain sees all month, and many homes already have a drain that's partly clogged and doesn't show it until the holiday load hits.
What causes holiday clogs
- Turkey drippings, grease and cooking oil. They're liquid when hot and, as Roto-Rooter puts it, solidify in the pipes like candle wax. Running hot water after them only moves the problem farther down the line.
- Potato peels. Starchy and stringy; a disposal turns them into paste.
- Rice and pasta. They keep absorbing water and swell in the pipe.
- Poultry skin and bones. Disposals don't grind them well.
- Everything at once. A full sink, a running dishwasher and a disposal all draining together can overwhelm a line that's already half closed.
How to get through the day
- Pour grease into a can or jar, let it harden, and throw it in the trash. Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing.
- Peels, skins, bones and scraps go in the trash, not the disposal.
- Run the disposal with plenty of cold water, a little at a time, and let it clear before adding more.
- Don't run the dishwasher while the sink and disposal are going full tilt.
- Keep a plunger in each bathroom for the extra guests, and a basket strainer in the kitchen sink.
- Wipes go in the trash, even the ones labeled flushable.
If the sink backs up anyway
- Stop running water into it, and hold off on the dishwasher.
- Try a plunger on the sink. On a double sink, cover the other drain while you plunge.
- Skip chemical drain cleaners. They rarely clear grease, and they make the pipe dangerous to open for whoever comes next.
- Water coming up in another sink, the tub or a floor drain means the clog is farther down the line, possibly the main. That needs a cable or drain cleaning, not more plunging. See signs of sewer line problems.
- Dishwasher full of dirty water too? See dishwasher not draining.
OX Plumbing clears kitchen drains across the East Valley and answers 24/7. Our $99 service call covers the visit, the diagnosis and an upfront price.