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Making sure your plumbing has a happy holiday season

Ah, the holidays. It’s a time for togetherness, good food, good memories… and plumbing problems.

All is merry and bright until Uncle Gary clogs the upstairs toilet, the twins have flushed their new Christmas socks in the downstairs toilet, and your husband lovingly poured the turkey grease into the garbage disposal. Oh, and if that’s not bad enough, the dishwasher is on the fritz and there are mouths to feed! Oh, no, holiday plumbing problems.

Not everything about the holiday season works well on a greeting card, but that’s where we come in to help save your holiday. Anticipate these plumbing woes ahead of time to make sure your pipes have a happy holiday!

Know what goes down the garbage disposal – and what doesn’t!

Many small scraps are perfectly suitable for a trip down the garbage disposal, especially when the turnover of rinsed dishes is extra high. Your garbage disposal will forgive you. However, grease from the show-stopping entrees you’ll be cooking lovingly for the family is NOT welcome in the disposal. To ensure your kitchen is holiday happy, make sure your cooks properly dispose of the leavings.

Police your toilets

If you’re going to have small kids in your home, it is best to make sure you check on your bathrooms periodically to make sure the toilets flush and nothing is amiss. The last thing you want is for Uncle Gary to take over the upstairs bathroom only to find out it no longer flushes or has overflowed without your knowledge.

If your toilets clog on a regular basis, there is probably a blockage that needs to be dealt with before you put your sewer system under heavy demand. Call Nichols & Phipps to snake your pipes before guests arrive.

Be kind to your guests

Buy a plunger for each bathroom, because, very few things are as embarassing as behing in somone elses home and causing the toilet to overflow. Sheer panic arises as you rush around the bathroom to find where the plunger is hidden. Only to realize there isn't one. Now what? Ignore the problem? Pretend it wasn't you? Track down the host and confess? Be kind, provide a plunger.

Here is a simple discret “hideaway” toilet plunger from OXO

Check on the old water heater and give it some attention

Your water heater probably hasn’t had the maintenance it deserves in awhile. With dishes set to soak in the kitchen, the dishwasher running at full capacity way more than usual, laundry being twice as hefty, AND more people running your sinks and showers, your water heater might be feeling overworked and underappreciated. Make sure it gets to have a happy holiday, too, with some routine water heater maintenance.

If you can’t remember the last time your water heater had a checkup… it’s time to be proactive before the extended family arrives.

Have your plumbing maintenance before visitors come knocking

One of the best ways to prevent any plumbing fiascos mid-memory-making is to prevent them with a nice plumbing tune-up from Nichols & Phipps. This ensures that your pipes are worry-free and you are too, all holiday long.

Call on us between festivities to preempt the inevitable

That said, you can’t predict every plumbing misstep that might happen when the family is around. If your hot water heater isn’t feeling so hot, or your garbage disposal isn’t disposing very well, call us! We are fast, friendly, and can make sure your plumbing problems go away and your plumbing system is happy again and stays that way.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours.

 

Check out our other blogs for some great plumbing advice:

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