Avoid Your Next Big Parties, Big Problems with Flow Pros Plumbing
This year, in between planning the perfect menu, cleaning the house, and decorating for each holiday, take some time to ensure you are putting efforts into place to help you avoid any significant plumbing emergencies while entertaining. Big parties, big plumbing problems- are no problem for the experts at Flow Pros, but let’s try to avoid them!
Playing host or hostess means making sure your guests have a great time, which requires a lot of preparation. And we know nothing quite kills a party like a clogged garbage disposal or overflowing toilet. Avoid these common plumbing issues with a few of our practical tips.
1| Fix Known Plumbing Issues Before the Big Parties, Big Plumbing Problems
It’s that time of year, so family and friends will be knocking at your door for parties, festive dinners, and other holiday celebrations. We all have something to celebrate during the months of October through January. There is Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and many other things to celebrate this time of year.
If you’re having a house full of people over, int chance increases for plumbing problems. Clearly, these are not problems you want to deal with when you have a house full of people. Thankfully, companies like Flow Pros have trained and certified technicians to help you when trouble shows up at the door.
Another tip for not having to worry about your plumbing during a party is to ensure that all your plumbing fixtures are working correctly in the days leading up to your get-together.
Start with the following tips:
- Flush all toilets in your home, listening for unusual noises
- Make sure that your drains are completely clear before anyone comes over
These and more can really help prevent any significant problems. Here are more issues you may want to avoid.
Blocked Sewer Lines- Nothing is worse than when you flush the toilet and notice the water rising instead of going down! Many of the reasons a toilet can clog can be because of the sewer lines becoming blocked.
Clogged Toilets- When your toilets clog up, it will make them overflow and back up on your floors. This could also get so bad that your bathroom is entirely out of use.
Broken Garbage Disposal- If your garbage disposal is not working, it will cause your sink not to drain and the water and food that’s in the dishwasher to back up into the sink. This makes your dishwasher unusable and causes an unsightly stack of dirty dishes to pile up.
Clogged Showers- If your shower gets clogged by hair or previous drain issues and your guest happen to stay over, no one could get showered. That’s embarrassing and creates chaos in the house.
2| Keep a Trash Can Near the Toilet
You probably already know that certain items will clog your toilet quickly. However, some of your guests might not share in your extensive plumbing knowledge. A few things that should go in the trash.
- Feminine products
- Paper towels
- Baby wipes
- Kids toys
- Dental floss
Your guest may feel embarrassed to look around and go for your toilet as their trash can. Try to avoid that at all costs by placing a trash can out for their ease of use and your peace of mind. Don’t put the trash can under the sink or in the towel cabinet. Instead, we recommend sitting it next to the toilet where it has the most visibility.
3| Big Parties? Use Multiple Bathrooms
If your home has multiple bathrooms, we suggest opening them up to your guest, even your personal bathroom. Trust me; you won’t care that you didn’t have time to put your makeup and toothbrush away if that means saving you money on plumbing issues.
If you don’t watch it carefully, the toilet is more likely to clog. When you have many friends, family members, and neighbors visiting, one toilet could struggle to keep up with the constant use. And sometimes, multiple guests may have to use the restroom at the same time.
So, if you can, let your visitors use your other bathrooms as needed. Your toilets, plumbing system, and your friends will appreciate your generosity.
4| Make a Plunger Accessible to Guest
Minor clogs can lead to big plumbing problems when left unattended. If one of your guests clogs the toilet and other guests go after them, you may soon have water overflowing onto your bathroom floors. And with each subsequent flush, this increases the risk of water damage and pushes the clog further into the pipes, making the problem worse.
Although you should always call a plumber for more significant, more stubborn clogs, you can usually handle simple clogs independently. Keep a plunger within reach of your bathroom, and let your guests know that you can help them as needed.
5| Remove Excess Food Before Washing Dishes
Parties are the perfect time to try new recipes. You may even invite your friends and family members to bring their own appetizers, sides, and desserts.
When the snacks are gone, you’ll have more dishes than you’d probably like to clean up afterward. Before you load the dishwasher with cups, plates, bowls, and platters, take a few moments to scrape off the remaining food into the trash can.
It’s always recommended not to rinse oils, fats, grease, or other items that will likely clog your plumbing. Even though you have a disposal, putting the wrong things into your plumbing can cause serious problems.
If your holiday parties involve these food items, don’t put them down the drain:
- Apple Core– Apple cores have seeds and stiff parts that can not be adequately ground up by the thin blades of the garbage disposal. The disposal paddles are strong but should have to chop up unnecessary food. Throw that in the compost pile!
- Turkey Bones– Never place the bones from fried chicken or chicken wings into your sink’s drain or disposal. Bones can clog drains, catching other food items on the way down. Along with causing clogs, bones can stick in disposal blades, forcing the appliance to stop working.
- Pumpkin Remains– If you’ve ever scooped out the middle of a pumpkin, you know how the long strands can get stuck between your hands and the scooper, turning the whole situation into a sticky mess. Avoid taking that mess into your garbage disposal by disposing of pumpkin guts in the trash.
- Oil– Cooking and frying oils can also cause serious kitchen clogs. Pour these into a heat-resistant container, let the oil cool, and throw it in the trash.
- Flour– Pies are a holiday staple. But the flour you use in your recipe can start to form together in your drain, causing pipe clogs, so instead of rinsing it down, toss it in the trash.
- Coffee Grounds- Just like flour does, the fine grains and natural oil of the coffee beans can stick together and cause clogs.
6| Place a Hair Catcher in Each Drain
Hair catchers do their job perfectly by protecting your drains from hair clogs. Any hair that washes into the shower will collect at the catcher in the drain, and you can pull it out when you’re ready.
Hair catchers can do more than stop hair. They also stop larger chunks of food, wrappers, jewelry, and medicines from traveling down your pipes. They only cost a few dollars and can prevent hundreds of dollars in repairs.
Big Parties, Big Plumbing Problems? Call for Help
Although these tips can help you avoid most plumbing problems, careless guests can still impose on your drains and pipes. Hire Flow Pros Plumbing after your holiday parties to inspect your pipes for cracks, clogs, leaks, and other damages!
Flow Pros Plumbing offers superior plumbing services to St. Pete, Tampa, Valrico, Brandon, and more! Contact our helpful staff to get booked to get more information about an inspection, replacement, or repair.
Call today to start enjoying efficient plumbing fixtures and the peace of mind that everything works as it should.