Warning: These 5 Thanksgiving Foods Will Devastate Your Kitchen Drain

Thanksgiving is a time of family, food and, potentially, a huge plumbing disaster. Why?

So many homeowners throw Thanksgiving foods down their kitchen drain that they really shouldn’t. This leads to costly clogs and broken garbage disposals. Because of this, the day after thanksgiving is a plumber’s busiest day of the year.

To help you avoid the same fate as thousands of other homeowners, avoid shoving these 5 Thanksgiving foods down your kitchen drain.

1) Grease and anything greasy—like turkey skins

Don’t throw turkey skins and frying pan grease down your drain. The grease will eventually solidify and clog your pipes.

Throw the turkey skins in the trash and wipe out your frying pans with a paper towel before washing them in the sink.

2) Pastas

Your leftover casserole you’re about to throw away is a giant drain clog waiting to happen Casseroles often contain pasta, which swell in water and clog your drain trap.

3) Bones

Whether it’s bones from the turkey or chicken wings, don’t throw them in the garbage disposal. They’ll dull or break the blades. They can even cause it to jam, burning the motor out in the process.

4) Stringy-fibrous vegetables

Tough-skinned and stringy-fibrous vegetables can wrap themselves around the garbage disposal blades, preventing them from turning.

These vegetables include:

• Asparagus
• Artichokes
• Carrot skins 
• Celery 
• Potato skins 
• Horn husks

These won’t do much harm in small quantities. But the amount some families throw down their drains during Thanksgiving can cause problems.

5) Egg shells

People say these help sharpen the blade, but that’s a myth. Egg shells, when enough are grinded together by your garbage disposal’s blades, can clog your drain.

General Thanksgiving clean-up tips

• Keep the garbage disposal on as you put the food down the drain. Don’t wait till it’s full to turn it on.
• Keep the water on as you put food down the drain. 
• Don’t pour too much food down the drain at once. 
• Keeps several trash bags ready. Since you’ll be throwing more foods down your trash, you’ll need more trash bags to handle the extra food.

Nicholson Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing gladly serves the Framingham-area. Contact us online to learn more about our services.