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Plumbing Tips: Why It’s Important to Be Holiday Ready

12/13/2022

plumbing leak inside home

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, if you’re planning to host any holiday gatherings this year, or for the New Year, you need to make sure your home’s plumbing is ready to handle the extra traffic, which can include your family, friends, co-workers, and other acquaintances.

The plumbing in your home is mostly meant for everyday use, which generally only includes you and anyone else who lives in your house, such as your spouse and child(ren). However, when the holidays roll around, you will be using your kitchen more than normal, including cooking more, running your dishwasher more often, and using your sink and garbage disposal more frequently.

Also, your guests may need to use your kitchen as well, and many of them will be using your bathrooms while they’re attending holiday gatherings at your house. Plus, any overnight guests will need to use your bathtubs or showers.

All this extra activity can put a massive amount of pressure on your home’s plumbing. This is especially problematic because the cold weather that fall and winter bring already puts your plumbing at risk of incidents like your pipes freezing over and bursting. Fortunately, you can help your plumbing out if you make sure to properly prepare it for the holidays.

Plumbing Do’s and Don’ts for the Holidays

Plumbing problems can ruin a holiday gathering in a heartbeat. Don’t want that to happen to you? Here are a few plumbing do’s and don’ts for the holidays:

  • Do Prep Your Bathrooms – Do a flush check on all your home’s toilets. This will include confirming they flush well and checking them for leaks, water pressure problems, and clogs or clogging issues. Concentrate on making sure that the toilets that your guests will use most often are in tip-top shape. It might also be a good idea to put one-ply toilet paper in your bathrooms. One-ply toilet paper is less likely to clog your toilets. Also, ensure that your bathrooms have trashcans. This will (hopefully) prevent guests from attempting to flush things down the toilet that they shouldn’t, like paper towels, tissues, and other garbage.
  • Don’t Overwork Your Garbage Disposal – Holiday meals often require a lot of preparation. This probably means that not only will you be cooking quite a bit, but you will also be sharing your kitchen with friends and family. This will most certainly increase your garbage disposal’s workload. As much as you can, try not to overuse your garbage disposal. The last thing you want is for it to break down in the middle of your holiday meal preparations or during the one of your holiday gatherings. In addition to using your garbage disposal less, you should also make sure it’s ready to handle the extra work. Before your holiday meal prep and holiday gatherings begin, clean your garbage disposal thoroughly. You should also have a plumber check out your garbage disposal if it has been giving you any issues.
  • Do Check Your Sinks and Drains – Just as you checked and prepped your toilets, you need to check and prepare your showers, kitchen sinks, bathtub drains, and bathroom sinks. Check them to ensure they are not draining slowly, because that could be a sign that a clog is imminent or that there’s another issue with the drain. If you do find that any of your drains are draining slowly, it’s best to have a plumber come out and take a look at them. While do-it-yourself solutions sometimes work in a pinch, the draining issues often return quickly because the root of the problem isn’t solved. Plumbers can figure out what’s causing the problem and provide a long-term fix.

To learn more about preparing your home’s plumbing system for the holidays, or to discuss your plumbing problems with our experienced plumbers in Des Moines, give Service Legends a call.

515-657-6634Request Appointment Online

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