Plumbers brace for 'Brown Friday'—tips to avoid a post-Thanksgiving call
Plumber installing pipe. (Photo by: Kurt Wittman/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
CINCINNATI - There's Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but have you heard of "Brown Friday?"
According to plumbing company Roto-Rooter, the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day for plumbers.
They're often tasked with unclogging kitchen sinks, disposals and toilets.
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Plumbers have coined the phrase "Brown Friday" due to the dirty water and sewage they have to clean up.
"Houses full of holiday guests take extra showers and flush more toilets, so that alone puts a strain on residential drain systems," Paul Abrams, spokesperson for Roto-Rooter, said. "But once the kitchen gets busy and the sink and disposal receive peelings, rice, poultry skin and oily turkey drippings, things start clogging up fast."
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The company said incoming calls for service can jump by 50% over an average Friday and 21% over any other Thursday through Sunday period throughout the year.
However, they offer these tips to avoid having to call a plumber:
- Don't pour grease or turkey drippings down drains. They solidify in pipes and choke drains.
- Never put stringy, fibrous, or starchy waste down the garbage disposal. Disposals can handle most scraps in small quantities but it's best to toss most food waste into the trash can or compost pile.
- Make sure the disposal is running when you feed it food scraps.
- Don't flush wet wipes down toilets. They are slow to dissolve and will clog pipes.
- Place a waste basket in the bathroom so your guests won't flush these items.
- Spread out showers and laundry loads.