The holiday season is upon us, and one thing is for sure—things are going to look different this year! However you choose to celebrate, the fact is that even if it is with your immediate family only, or perhaps your “quaranbubble,” you may very well have guests over and big meals to serve.
That said, we would like to help you enjoy your festivities, by providing you with some tips to avoid major problems with your home—namely, the plumbing system in your home. After all, is there a worse time of the year to deal with a plumbing emergency? Sure, plumbing problems are never convenient, but this is really not how we want our customers to end 2020!
Read on as we uncover a couple of common holiday plumbing woes and what you can do about them for a pain-free holiday season.
Take Care of Your Kitchen Sink
One of the most frequent plumbing repair calls we get around the holiday season is in regards to a clogged up kitchen sink. There are many possible culprits for this. Certain food items, for example, go down the drain that shouldn’t. Homeowners too often assume that their garbage disposal will take care of it, but these devices are not indestructible. Celery stalks, corn husks, potato skins, and hard foods such as fruit pits can damage the garbage disposal and clog up the drain, therefore they should be put in the trash can.
Another villain of your kitchen sink is FOG. That is, fats, oils, and grease. What happens with FOG is that it cools down and congeals, sticking to the inside of your pipe walls. So, even if it doesn’t create a clog or backup in the sink right away, continuous dumping of FOG down your kitchen sink drain eventually builds up to become a huge mess that might have been avoided!
Lastly, anything that expands with water needs to avoid the kitchen sink drain too. This includes rice, pasta, and bread—they all act like sponges and when they get saturated with water they can easily clog up the drain.
Take Care of Your Bathroom Too
Whether you’re hosting a small get together or have adult children coming home for the holidays with your grandkids, the bathroom area can suffer. We say this because of what we’ve seen happen over the years—folks flushing trash down the toilet, children using too much toilet paper or knocking a toy down the toilet, or even the hot water running out due to increased demand.
(It bears mentioning that the latter may not qualify as a plumbing emergency, but it’s important to be aware of!)
Consider Your Water Heater
As we just mentioned, the hot water in your home can run out due to increased demand. Additionally, the cold air that comes with winter can cause expansion and contraction of your water heater, leading to leaks. If you haven’t had your water heater inspected in a while, now is the perfect time to give us a call!
See what keeps our customers saying, “I Love My Design Comfort” and contact us today to get in touch with a professional plumber in Salt Lake City, UT.
