Plumbers at locally owned and operated Forrest Anderson Plumbing and Air Conditioning Inc. (Forrest Anderson), are preparing for the day after Thanksgiving, also known across the industry as “Brown Friday”.
It’s one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers across the country, but not for what you might think. It’s Brown Friday because families unknowingly clog their pipes with turkey drippings, potato peels and other waste that can ruin the holiday afterglow.
Brown Friday tips include:
• Never pour turkey grease, drippings or oil down the drain as they could solidify and clog your lines. Instead, wipe pots with paper towels and throw away.
• Avoid putting vegetable peelings in the garbage disposal such as carrots, celery, potatoes, onions or pumpkin. Fibrous or stringy veggies can easily get stuck.
• Absolutely no turkey fat, bones or skin should go down the drain. Wait until fats and grease cool and solidify and toss it in the trash.
• Turn on the garbage disposal and run the water before you put in scraps. Make sure to let the water run a couple of minutes afterwards.
• Avoid putting pasta, rice and coffee grinds down the drain.
• Put large pieces of food in the trash instead of the garbage disposal. As a disposer ages, the blades become dull and the inside rusts. When this happens, food is not properly chopped up and bigger pieces can clog your pipes.
Extra guests also mean more people using toilets, sinks and showers. Ask guests to space out showers by 10-minutes to let water drain and reduce additional stress on the system. Also, make sure all bathrooms have a wastebasket so people don’t throw trash in the toilet, as well as a plunger, just in case.