Protect Your Plumbing System From These Holiday Hazards: Insights from Your Trusted Plumbing Company | Knoxville, TN
Thursday, December 9th, 2021
Photo By Andrey_Popov at Shutterstock
During the holiday seasons, most people spend time indoors more than at any other time of the year. This causes the plumbing system to be used more often, leading to different plumbing emergencies. Some homeowners invite extra guests during Thanksgiving and other holidays, putting their plumbing system under strain. During this time, the kitchen is busier than ever with lots of cooking; hence, more bones, rice, and grease end up in the garbage disposal.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that most plumbing companies in Knoxville, TN, are busy responding to such emergencies during holiday seasons. To stay safe from these holiday hazards, it’s essential to learn about some of the common plumbing nightmares that may occur during the coming holidays and how to avoid them.
Disposal Mishaps
Holiday gatherings center on food from gravy, turkey, glazed ham, mashed potatoes, among others. Therefore, it’s common for your garbage disposal to clog if you are not careful with what you put in the disposal unit.
When cleaning up after a hearty meal, it’s best to throw any scraps into the trash instead of leaving the trash can at the sink with some paper towels. This prevents the wrong food from ending up in the disposal tank.
Plumbers have also found odd things such as bracelets and rings in the garbage disposals; therefore, it’s advisable to remove any jewelry before doing the dishes.
But as fate would have it, some items can end up at your disposal no matter how careful you are. You can ignore small amounts, but large quantities should be washed with plenty of water.
If it’s non-food-related items such as wedding rings or forks that have dropped into the disposal accidentally, you should not try removing them with your hands. Instead, switch off the power to the disposal and use a pair of tongs or some needle-nose pliers to take the lost item out. At times the object could be impossible to retrieve, or it could have been dragged to the P trap; in such cases, ensure the power is kept off and immediately call an expert from a reliable plumbing company.
Clogged Shower Drains
Clogged shower drains are annoying. No one likes the smell coming out of the drain while shampooing their hair. It’s even vexing to stand in a few inches of water every time the water runs.
Therefore, if you have holiday guests staying overnight or for a few days, it’s crucial to ensure the drains are free of hair and obstructions. You can avoid these issues by having a qualified plumber from a reputable plumbing company install a drain catch to prevent any obstacles clogging your shower drain.
Toilet Drama
Many house guests in your home mean more toilet traffic, and the last thing you would want to deal with is a clogged toilet. You don’t want to wake up to an embarrassing inconvenience of a stubborn toilet clog on your Christmas morning. To avoid this humiliation, it’s best to put a small garbage can next to your toilet so that your guests won’t be tempted to flush baby wipes, cotton balls, or other non-flushable items down the toilet.
Also, after using the toilet, always keep the lid shut to avoid soap bars, medicine bottles, or other small toiletries from slipping in. Plus, it would be best to have a plunger that’s suitable for unclogging toilets. If you’ve noted that your toilet clogs frequently, then there must be a clog that has to be removed before you put your toilet under heavy demand. Contact a licensed plumbing company in Knoxville, TN, to snake your pipes before guests arrive.
Dishwasher Dysfunction
Even without visitors, your dishwater is still the hardest working appliance in the kitchen. When you have guests during holidays and food is plentiful, the dishwater has to work two or even three times more than usual to clean the dishes.
If you are not careful during this time, the dishwater may end up malfunctioning. To avoid your dishwater from breaking down, it’s important to ensure that it is loaded properly. Also, do not load the dishwasher past the normal capacity when cleaning up after a large meal.
Besides poorly cleaned dishes, overloading the dishwater redirects water to the bottom of the tank, and this causes leaks under the door as well as wear and tear on your unit!
It’s important to remember that your dishwater has an average lifespan of between 7 to 12 years. Therefore, if it has lived way past its lifespan, it’s essential to have it replaced immediately to avoid numerous trips to a plumbing company to have it repaired.
Water Heater Worries
Although it works behind the scenes, your water heater plays the crucial role of delivering hot water to your appliances and taps, especially during the frigid winters. Your water heater needs to be in top condition for all your core household activities such as bathing, cleaning, and cooking to be carried out conveniently.
It can be a huge inconvenience if it fails, especially during the holidays, because getting a plumbing company to fix it quickly can be difficult. Therefore, identifying warning signs of water heater failure would help you contact a plumber in advance and have the problem fixed before the entire unit fails.
Some signs, if ignored, can end up being severe problems, and a repair would be impossible, hence necessitating a total replacement. For instance, popping or banging noises could mean excess sediments or mineral deposits at the bottom, especially if you live in an area with hard water.
In such cases, you’ll need a plumber from a reputable plumbing company to flush and fill the water like once a year to prevent sediment buildup. Failure to do that may cause the buildup at the bottom may trap moisture beneath the residue. Eventually, pressure from the steam bubbles could cause the water tank to burst if it’s an old model.
The best way to avoid water heater problems is to schedule annual preventative maintenance with a trusted plumbing company. And if the system is 10 years or older, then a replacement is the only option that can save you frequent mishaps.
Choose My Professional Plumber As Your Plumbing Company For the Holidays
Are you looking to have your plumbing system checked out before the frantic holidays begin? Don’t sweat it; My Professional Plumber in Knoxville, TN, got you covered. Our plumbing company employs trained and competent plumbers who quickly resolve all your plumbing issues.
Besides, we can help you with drain cleaning, plumbing repair and installation, emergency services, and water heater issues. Please schedule an appointment today with our reputable plumbing company.