Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong – at the worst possible moment. We have Murphy to thank for the sentiment, and it’s true. From frozen pipes to clogged drains, there are a myriad of things that can go wrong with your plumbing, and there’s no worse time to be faced with an emergency plumbing disaster than over the holiday season.
With friends and family visiting, and your budget stretched to the limit, the last thing you want to do is have to get on the horn to find a decent, reliable emergency plumber to solve the mess of a flooded basement or toilet that won’t flush.
Practice proper plumbing care to avoid potential holiday plumbing disasters:
In the kitchen…
- Don’t put bones, skin or vegetable peels down the garbage disposal.
- Toss all leftovers in the green bin
- Don’t out grease or fat down the drain
- Don’t run the dishwasher if you think there’s a problem.
In the bathroom…
- Flush frequently
- Limit toilet paper use or buy 1-ply toilet paper
- Spread out showers over the course of the day, and wait at least 10 minutes between showers so that slow drains will have time to drain, and your water heater has a chance to recover.
- Turn up your water heater to increase its capacity to meet holiday house guest demand, but don’t exceed 125 degrees.
- Keep a plunger handy
- Provide a bin for garbage for refuse
- Set rules on what can be flushed, and never flush cotton balls or swabs, hair, facial scrub pads or similar items that don’t dissolve in water.
In the laundry room…
- Do smaller loads of laundry to relieve tension on your washing machine’s suspension and bearings
- Run a maintenance cycle at its hottest temperature to descale and remove mineral deposits
If you’re planning on heading out of town over the holidays for an extended period of time, you’ll need to take extra precautions to ensure you don’t come back from Christmas vacation to face any unwanted presents the frost may leave behind. We’ve detailed a comprehensive list in our blog post, How To Winterize Your Plumbing.
Sometimes, planning ahead and paying attention isn’t enough to keep from experiencing problems. In the event of an emergency plumbing situation, keep the contact of a trusted, reliable plumber on hand. With our fleet of seven fully stocked service vehicles, Haye’s Plumbing is able to provide quick response, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to any emergency plumbing call in the Durham Region. For more information, give us a call at 905 576 3043 or visit our contact page.
