To us here at Pioneer Industries, the holidays symbolize friends, family, fun, and a whole lot of cooking. Yet they can also bring numerous plumbing mishaps. Check out the tips below to ensure your holiday celebrations do not end in annoying plumbing issues.

Your Kitchen Sink

The most common plumbing issue this time of year is a clogged kitchen sink. Many things can cause this. Certain foods such as celery stalks, artichoke leaves, corn husks, and hard foods like fruit pits should never go down the drain even if you have a disposal in place. Discard these items in the trash rather than your sink.

Another enemy to your kitchen sink is FOG, also known as fats, oils, and grease. Although it may not cause a back-up right away, continuous dumping of FOG down your kitchen sink drain will eventually build-up and become a huge mess. To keep drains clear of grease, preventing build-up is always the best way to keep your drains and pipes free and clear. Dispose of any accumulated FOG in the trash instead of down the drain. Sometimes a simple flush using a mixture of hot water, vinegar, and a couple of squirts of dish soap is enough to clear minor build-up of incidental FOG accumulation.

Lastly, exercise caution when putting anything down your drain that expands with water, such as beans, rice, pasta, even chia seeds. They act like sponges, and when saturated with water, they can become engorged with water and easily clog your drain.

Your Bathroom

Bathroom emergencies caused by trash getting flushed, using too much toilet paper, or an item dropped in the toilet, are all examples of the havoc that can happen in the restroom during the busy holidays. Plus, just a few extra guests can mean you may run out of hot water due to the increased demand. Even if these issues do not cause an actual plumbing emergency, it is a good thing to be aware of going into the holidays.

Your Water Heater

As mentioned above, your hot water can be in short supply due to the increased demand holiday guests bring to your home. However, this isn’t the only water heater issue that can arise this time of year. The cold air that comes with winter can cause expansion and contraction in your water heater and pipes. In an older unit, this can result in fractures and subsequent leaks, or more severe instances, flooding. Routine maintenance is the best way to ensure your water heater stays in good condition and ready to face not only all the guests that make your holiday meaningful but also withstand the added winter stresses that come with the icy weather.

Plumbing emergencies happen to the best of us. So, make sure you have the number of a highly recommended and trusted plumber handy to handle any plumbing-related predicaments you may find yourself in this holiday season.

Happy Holidays from all of us here at Pioneer Industries!