Thanksgiving is a great time for most families. Houses are buzzing as loved ones wander about, the air is filled with the scent of delicious food. Gratitude is magnified and football is on the television. Then you go to clean the last batch of pots and pans and realize – oh no the kitchen drain is clogged!
Sadly a lot of family holidays take a frustrating turn for the host as the result of entirely avoidable holiday plumbing hiccups. Here are a few tips to keep your plumbing moving smoothly this Turkey Day.
How To Keep Your Kitchen Drain Healthy This Thanksgiving
Get a leftover bucket
While some guest will automatically discard their leftover turkey bones and cranberry sauce into your trash, others will decide to be “helpful” and will aim for the garbage disposal. This may seem like the right place to put things but with a large group of Thanksgiving guests throwing hard bones down the drain can cause some plumbing problems. Having a leftover bucket for guests to scrape their leftover food into is an excellent way to avoid this. Those remaining food scraps can be a great way to make your garden more beautiful in the spring by making compost. Not only can you start a compost pile, you can feed your dog (if your dinner was puppy friendly), or throw them in the garbage.
Foods to keep out of the sink:
Thick or gristle-filled meat
Skins or grinds of fruits and vegetables
Eggshells
Flour, pasta and rice
Grease or oil
Stringy or tough foods like greens or corn cobs
Use A Sink Strainer
Sink strainers are a wonderful way protect your garbage disposal until your guests go home. These fairly inexpensive kitchen gadgets work as a screen for your drain. While water and other liquid can still rinse through, thicker items won’t drain.
Have a Before Thanksgiving Drain Cleaning
While it’s unlikely that one Thanksgiving dinner will clog your pipes by itself, a drain on the brink of being stopped up can be pushed over after a hefty garbage disposal feeding. Before you start prepping the turkey and seeing which pie Aunt Carol is bringing, call Mr. Plumber to see if you could benefit from a Hydro Drain cleaning.
