Everyone enjoys Thanksgiving and the fun and festivities with which it is associated, but because it takes a lot of work and preparation, your plumbing system sometimes suffers in the process. Any emergency plumber in Orange County would likely tell you that hosting friends and family in your home can strain your system in many different ways. Below are some common plumbing mishaps to watch out for after Thanksgiving is over.
Stopped-Up Sink
Not surprisingly, clogged kitchen sinks are number one on the list of plumbing problems that may occur after your turkey day festivities are over. This is because of the amount of food that is typically prepared for this holiday. The grease and oil from all the cooking and washing end up collecting in your pipes to form a nasty clog that stops the flow of water.
Plunging is the best home remedy for kitchen sink clogs. Chemical drain cleaners, on the other hand, often do more long-term damage than you realize. If plunging has little or no effect, try pouring boiling water down the drain or even adding a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to the water to free up stubborn clogs. If these remedies fail and you still have a slow or clogged drain, it may be time to call a licensed plumber.
Clogged Toilets
Whenever you have a house full of people over for a meal, it is practically guaranteed that your bathroom plumbing will be working overtime. For instance, you may have guests who go overboard with toilet tissue or flush items such as wipes or feminine products. A child may even place a toy or other object in the bowl, which could get flushed accidentally by the next person in line.
It is also possible that the extended use of bathroom facilities may bring an issue to light that was already in the pipeline. If this is the case, you should contact a sewer-inspection plumber to get to the root of the problem. Regardless of why the clog occurred, however, it can quickly become serious if it is not dealt with immediately, so if home remedies do not lead to satisfactory results, contact a licensed professional as soon as possible.
No Hot Water
Nothing is worse than trying to take a nice hot shower at the end of a long day and finding your post-Thanksgiving water has suddenly turned cold. This is usually because your system simply “ran out” of hot water: most residential dwellings use conventional water heaters that continuously refill with cold water, which is then heated by the heating element. When you have a household of guests, however, the hot water may be used up faster than it can be resupplied by the tank. If this is the case, simply waiting a while typically remedies the problem.
Of course, there are also other issues that may cause your water to remain cold. Sometimes the system just needs to be flushed, or the thermostat needs to be turned up. If these remedies fail to bring satisfaction, you might want to consider a tankless hot water heater, as they heat the water on demand as needed, so you never run out of hot water.
Thanksgiving is a frantic time, particularly if you are hosting the dinner. For this reason, you should not have to struggle with plumbing problems if you cannot find a quick solution. Instead, contact an experienced and reputable plumber in Laguna Niguel who can offer free leak-detection services and evaluate your plumbing system for other potential problems. This will give you the peace of mind that comes from knowing the situation is in the hands of an expert.