Thanksgiving is considered one of the busiest holidays apart from Christmas. In the emergency plumbing business, garbage disposals and sink clogs are becoming apart of the thanksgiving and holiday tradition.
During these holiday traditions it can push some household plumbing systems to their limit due to increased kitchen and bathroom activity. By observing a few best practices and by performing some light duty maintenance, you can help keep your kitchen and bathroom in prime plumbing conditions for the holidays.
Disposals:
Remembering that disposals aren’t for everything is key to helping you maintain healthy plumbing. Used properly your garbage disposal can save you from some of the messiest kitchen tasks. Disposals are ideal for disposing of leftovers that are to liquid or smelly for the trash can. Knowing what type of substances to avoid putting in your disposal is key.
Listed below is kitchen waste that belongs in the trash, never in the disposal.
Celery and asparagus: vegetables like these are so fibrous that they can actually wrap around the disposal blade and grind it to a halt.
Potato peels: this is a rookie Thanksgiving mistake — if you peel your potatoes into the disposal, you run the risk of creating a starchy paste that can gum up the works.
Fat, grease and oil: These can solidify around the blade and in your drain pipe, restricting movement and water flow.
Pasta and rice: These foods expand in water, even after they’ve been fully cooked. Stuffing your disposal with leftover noodles can overfill the chamber before you know it.
Bones: Fine fish bones are generally okay, but turkey bones and anything larger belongs in the garbage or compost.
How To safely clear a clog in your garbage disposal:
The best source for this information is your disposal’s manual which you can likely find online with a quick search for your disposal’s manufacturer name and model number.
Most models have a manual crank at the bottom that allows you to turn the blade when it’s stuck. It’s never truly safe to reach into a garbage disposal, even when it’s completely disconnected from power, so the manual crank is the preferred method for loosening clogs.
Your disposal may also be able to shut itself down to prevent damage to the motor in the event of a clog. If your disposal has this feature, you’ll need to press a reset button to restore power once you’ve manually cleared the clog.
Increased Bathroom Activity:
Whether you’re just entertaining for the evening or you’re putting up a house full of guests for several days, your bathrooms are going to get busy when you’re playing host. Before your guests arrive, peek inside your toilet’s tank just to make sure your flapper is in good condition and everything is in its place. It’s also a good idea to stick a plunger in the bathroom just so that it’s at the ready in the event of a potential overflow.
As for furnishing hot showers for everyone, you may find that you need to stagger showers at different times to avoid outrunning your water heater. If your water heater’s thermostat is set lower than 120 degrees (the highest safe setting) you’ll get a helpful boost by temporarily increasing the setting to that level.
And if you tend to play host to a big crowd year after year, you might consider making your next water heater a tankless model. They come at a higher upfront cost, but they’re more energy efficient than standard water heaters and you’ll never run out of hot water with their on-demand heating.
Accl Plumbing offers repair and replacement services. We would be pleased to develop a guaranteed unique solution to keep your overstuffed disposals, water heater installations, sewer blockages, clogged drains, burst pipes, broken water heater or over flowing toilets, free of any obstructions. We can help. Call 1(905) 448-5909 or visit our contact page to drop us a message http://acclplumbing.com/contact-us/
