Be Cautious With What Goes Down the Drain This
The holidays are a time for family, celebration, and delicious meals—but they're also the busiest season for
emergency plumbing calls. More cooking, more guests, and more food waste can quickly overwhelm your drains and garbage disposal. A little caution now can save you from a plumbing disaster during your holiday gatherings.
Why the Holidays Are Rough on Your Plumbing
Think about what happens during holiday celebrations: you're preparing elaborate meals with rich, fatty foods; hosting more guests who use your bathrooms and kitchen; running your garbage disposal more than usual; washing more dishes than normal; and doing extra loads of laundry. Your plumbing system works harder during the holidays than any other time of year.
The problem? Many holiday foods and cooking byproducts are absolutely terrible for your drains. What seems convenient—rinsing things down the sink—can create stubborn clogs that ruin your celebration and require emergency plumbing services.
■■ The #1 Holiday Plumbing Culprit: GREASE Grease, oil, and fat are the leading cause of holiday drain clogs. When hot, they flow easily down your drain. But as they cool in your pipes, they solidify, coating pipe walls and trapping other debris. Over time, this buildup creates massive blockages that completely stop your drains.
NEVER pour grease, oil, or fat down your drain—not even with hot water running!
The NEVER List: What to Keep Out of Your Drains
Kitchen Drain Enemies:
Cooking Grease and Fats: Turkey drippings, bacon grease, butter, gravy, and any cooking oils. Let them cool in a container and throw them in the trash instead.
Starchy Foods: Pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread products expand when exposed to water, creating gummy masses that clog pipes. Scrape plates thoroughly before rinsing.
Fibrous Vegetables: Celery, asparagus, corn husks, and artichokes have tough fibers that wrap around garbage disposal blades and create tangles in pipes.
Potato Peels: These create a thick, starchy paste that's terrible for both disposals and drains. Compost them or trash them instead.
Coffee Grounds: Despite seeming harmless, coffee grounds clump together and combine with grease to form stubborn clogs. Throw them away or compost them.
Eggshells: The membrane inside shells can wrap around disposal blades, and shell fragments contribute to clogs. Always trash eggshells.
Bones and Meat: Turkey bones, chicken bones, or any meat scraps can damage your disposal and create blockages. These belong in the trash.
Fruit Pits and Seeds: Peach pits, cherry pits, and seeds are too hard for disposals and will damage the blades or jam the unit.
Smart Disposal Habits for Holiday Cooking
The Container Method: Keep a disposable container near your stove while cooking. Pour all grease, oil, and fat into this container. Once it cools and solidifies, throw the entire container in the trash.
Scrape, Don't Rinse: Before washing dishes, scrape all food scraps into the trash or compost bin. Even small amounts of the wrong foods add up over multiple meals.
Use Strainers: Place mesh strainers in your sink drains to catch food particles. Empty strainers into the trash regularly throughout your cooking and cleanup.
Run Cold Water: When using your garbage disposal, always run cold water—not hot. Cold water keeps fats solid so they can be chopped up and flushed through rather than coating your pipes.
Disposal Best Practices: Feed items slowly into the disposal rather than cramming it full. Run water for 15-20 seconds after turning off the disposal to fully flush debris through your pipes.
What CAN Go Down Your Disposal?
Your garbage disposal can handle small amounts of soft food scraps, citrus peels (in moderation—they freshen the disposal), small fruit and vegetable scraps, and ice cubes (which actually help clean disposal blades). But remember: less is always better. When in doubt, throw it out!
Bathroom Considerations During Holidays
With extra guests, your bathrooms get more use too. Remind guests (politely) that only toilet paper should be flushed. So-called "flushable" wipes aren't truly flushable—they don't break down like toilet paper and are a leading cause of toilet clogs and sewer backups.
Keep a small trash can with a lid in each bathroom for wipes, feminine products, cotton swabs, and other items that shouldn't be flushed.
Holiday Hosting Tip:
Place a small, decorative sign in guest bathrooms kindly reminding visitors to flush only toilet paper. It saves embarrassment and prevents clogs!
Prevention is Cheaper Than Emergency Repairs
A clogged drain during Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas brunch can turn a joyful gathering into a stressful disaster. Emergency plumbing calls during holidays are expensive and disruptive. The few extra seconds it takes to properly
dispose of waste is infinitely better than dealing with a backed-up sink full of dirty dishwater while your guests wait.
One moment of convenience—pouring grease down the drain—can lead to hours of inconvenience and hundreds of dollars in repairs.
Pre-Holiday Plumbing Prep
Before your big holiday gathering, take these preventive steps:
Test Your Drains: Make sure all sinks and toilets are draining properly before guests arrive. Slow drains now will become clogged drains under holiday stress.
Clean Your Disposal: Freshen and clean your garbage disposal so it's ready for increased use.
Stock Supplies: Have a plunger in each bathroom and know where your main water shut-off valve is located—just in case.
Plan Grease Disposal: Set up your grease container system before you start cooking, so proper disposal becomes automatic.
If Problems Do Occur
Despite your best efforts, clogs can still happen—especially if you're hosting guests who aren't aware of what shouldn't go down the drain. If you experience slow drains, gurgling sounds, or standing water, don't wait for it to get worse. The sooner you address problems, the easier and less expensive they are to fix.
Never use chemical drain cleaners on stubborn clogs. These harsh products can damage pipes and create dangerous fumes, especially if multiple chemical products are mixed. Professional drain cleaning is safer and more effective.
We're Here to Help
Mountain Vista Plumbing understands that plumbing emergencies don't take holidays off. If you do experience a clog or backup during your holiday celebrations, we're available to get your plumbing working again quickly so you can get back to enjoying your family and friends.
But our hope is that by following these simple guidelines, you'll avoid plumbing problems altogether and enjoy a stress-free, clog-free holiday season!
Happy Holidays from Mountain Vista Plumbing!
May your drains flow freely and your celebrations be worry-free!
Holiday Plumbing Emergency?
Mountain Vista Plumbing is here to help—even during the holidays!
Call us: 480-847-9769