Only 8 more days until Thanksgiving!!!  A great holiday filled with food, family, and fellowship but a lot of preparation work goes into a great Thanksgiving celebration every year.  The warmth of good food, a clean home, and welcome warmth from the cold outside all work in show for an amazing occasion. Unfortunately, the dread of an oncoming disaster can add unneeded stress to an otherwise great celebration.

Holiday problems aren’t always nice enough to wait until after your guests have had their fill and gone home.  Problems may strike both before and during your party.  While you can’t prepare yourself for all of them, there are a few really simple things you can do to ensure that your party is ready to deal with major issues before they arrive.

Don’t treat your garbage disposal like a trash can.

People, especially those with a garbage disposal, tend to treat their kitchen sinks as a waste basket for cleaning up kitchen scraps.  But this mistreatment leaves many of them with clogged or smelly drains, usually just in time to be a problem.

Never pour fats, cooking oil, or excess grease down your drain.  They’re liquids while cooking but they congeal and solidify in your pipes quickly.

Fibrous and starchy foods, such as peels or turkey skins, can hang or collect inside your drains in much the same way that hair does in any other drain.  Stringy items like these should be thrown away with regular trash or composted outdoors.

Always run cold water when you turn your garbage disposal on. Turn it on before you start pushing non-fatty or stringy food down into it. Filling it full and then turning it on is a great day to break your disposal before Thanksgiving even starts.

Keep your garbage disposal clean by pouring a small amount of dish soap inside and run it with some cold water. You can even use a few slices of lemon peel for a fresh scent.

If your garbage disposal is broken, don’t try to fix it yourself. This type of project is not DIY — give us a call before attempting the fix yourself.

What to Do for Clogged Thanksgiving Drains

Do not fix a clogged sink drain, especially one with a disposal, using liquid decloggers or solvents.  While these works for hair traps and some other issues, they are not rated for foods and oils which have been flushed down the sink.  To solve these clogs, use a plumbing snake to clear the clog.  If you’re unfamiliar with how to use a snake, or you don’t own one and simply want a fast-fix before the party starts, call McCoy’s Heating, Air & Plumbing. 

The only thing that should be flushed down your toilet is toilet paper and human waste!

Clogged toilets area common occurrence, but not by any more of a margin than normal.  For one thing, they’re easy to prevent.  Many of the problems we see with toilets every year are due to improper use of low-flow toilets.  You should never flush anything other than human waste or toilet paper.  Other items, even wet-wipes labeled “flushable” have a high chance of clogging your drains.  If you want to prevent a disaster scenario before it ever starts, be careful of what gets flushed. So, make sure your guests know that the only 2 things that should be flushed down a toilet are toilet paper and human waste.

Guest Staying Overnight

If you have overnight guests make sure to schedule at least 15 minutes between showers in order for the hot water to replenish! Also, this will allow your drains to clear

Fix the existing plumbing issues BEFORE Thanksgiving and before your guests arrive. 

If you have leaky faucet, clogged or slow running drain, a water heater on its last leg, or you’re having garbage disposal issues, give us a call to fix those problems TODAY! Plus, if you’re in need of our services during the holiday, give us a call at 731-668-7492 or schedule on our app! Happy Thanksgiving from McCoy’s Heating, Air & Plumbing!