Thanksgiving is one of, if not the, best holidays of the year!

We get together with our friends and family, eat a bunch of great food, and then sit in front of the TV and watch the Detroit Lions let us down once again on national TV.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...
Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...
Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

If you're really lucky you might have a lively family discussion about your favorite politician, Covid-19, or a very awkward conversation about when you are going to get married or have kids.

All of that might seem like a lot to handle but it's nothing compared to what plumbers in Michigan and across the country have to take on the next day aka "Brown Friday" 

Big Joe Pesh
Big Joe Pesh
loading...

According to plumbing company Roto-Rooter the day after Thanksgiving, aka
"Brown Friday", is the busiest day of the year for plumbing, sewer, and drain services.

Why is the day after Thanksgiving such a busy day for plumbers?

Plumber.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
loading...

When cooks get busy in the kitchen preparing a feast, lots of food and scraps end up down the kitchen drain and into the garbage disposal. Turkey drippings. It’s just grease. Hot drippings may be in liquid form when poured down the drain but the liquid will solidify like candle wax once it cools down inside the pipes. Rice and pasta swell when introduced to water. Worse, they’ll break down into a starchy gel and clog the pipes. Toss in some poultry skin, dressing, vegetable peels, and a bone or two and you’ve got a sewer or drain clog of monumental proportions.

Overnight Guests / Friends and Family

Shower turned on, overhead ceiling shower faucet head closeup.
colinhui
loading...

Many Thanksgiving hosts have overnight guests who take showers or baths, flush toilets, and might even do a laundry load or two. This extra strain on the plumbing system is like the proverbial last straw that breaks a camel’s back. Chances are that the house already had a partially clogged drain or two but the problem was not altogether noticeable yet. However, once a few more guests show up, the drains become overwhelmed. Worse, the actual problem might be past the sink drain down in the main sewer line under your front yard. Tree roots grow into the pipe at the joint and catch all of the grease, toilet paper, food scraps, and wet wipes that go down your drains. Eventually, every drain in the house backs up with raw sewage.

To avoid plumbing and drain issues over The Thanksgiving weekend, follow these tips:

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...
-Never pour grease, turkey drippings, or cooking oil down drains. They solidify in pipes and choke drains.
Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Photo by Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
loading...
-Don’t put potato peels, poultry skins, bones, rice, or pasta down the garbage disposal. Disposals can handle small quantities of scraps, but most food should go into the trash can or compost pile.
Big Joe Pesh
Big Joe Pesh
loading...
-Make sure the disposal is running when you add food scraps.
Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...
-Don’t flush wet wipes down toilets. Most won’t dissolve and can clog pipes.
Big Joe Pesh
Big Joe Pesh
loading...
-Place a plunger in guest bathrooms to save your guests the embarrassment of asking for one.
Woman Doing Laundry
iStock
loading...
-Spread out showers and laundry loads.

Top 25 Restaurants West Michigan Wants Right Now

Michigan City Nicknames

More From Mix 95.7