Advice from S. Agentis Plumbing/Mr. Rooter of the Lehigh Valley
LEHIGH VALLEY, PA (NOVEMBER 22, 2016) — Thanksgiving is the peak holiday for blocked drains, pipes, and other plumbing disasters in the home.
The holiday of feasting and out of town guests can be particularly stressful for household pipes, drains and sewers.
“Our emergency calls can double over the holidays,” says Josh Agentis, of family-owned, Bethlehem-based S. Agentis Plumbing/Mr.Rooter Lehigh Valley.
When houses are packed with family, friends and overnight guests, there are additional showers and toilet flushes than normal. People may toss disposable wipes, cotton balls or hair down the drain or toilet, all a possible disaster. Additionally, inexperienced home cooks helping to prepare the feast may overload garbage disposals with potato peelings, pumpkin pulp and other food waste.
The weekend warrior may also fail to use enough water to flush food debris when using the garbage disposal. Cooking grease and oils compound the mix. All the extra activity can push your home over the edge,” adds Agentis.
Wreaking havoc not only on your home plumbing, but municipal systems also become clogged with grease balls of debris. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that cooking grease is the number one cause of blocked sewers, causing 47 percent of stoppages.
Such blockages can cause sewers to overflow. The EPA also reports between 23,000 and 75,000 U.S. sanitary sewer overflows a year, discharging up to 10 billion gallons (38 billion liters) of raw sewage.
Top 9 Tips to Help Avoid a Holiday Plumbing Disaster
- Never drop grease down your drain. Congealed turkey and other grease can harden into a consistency like candle wax or clay.
- Do clean up oil and grease with paper towels and discard them. Or pour off the grease into a container (a coffee can or milk carton will do) let it congeal, and discard the container in the trash just like grandma used to do.
- Never send a sludge of semi-solid materials down your garbage disposal and into your pipes either.
- Keep stringy pumpkin pulp out of the pipes too; it can harden into a mass of muck.
- Do not wait until the disposal is full to turn it on.
- Use plenty of water when using the disposal, and let it run for 20 or 30 seconds or longer, until it is clear.
- Do wait 10 minutes or so between showers to allow slow drains to clear when additional house guests are using systems.
- Do not flush wipes, cotton swabs or paper towels down the toilet. Just because a wipe product states “flushable” doesn’t mean these items won’t block your pipes.
- Do take care of plumbing problems before the holidays.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that cooking grease is the number one cause of blocked sewers, causing 47 percent of stoppages.
Such blockages can cause sewers to overflow. The EPA also reports between 23,000 and 75,000 U.S. sanitary sewer overflows a year, discharging up to 10 billion gallons (38 billion liters) of raw sewage.
At S. Agentis Plumbing/Mr. Rooter of the Lehigh Valley, we believe the kitchen is the heart of the home, and the bathroom, a much needed retreat. The experienced team at S. Agentis is on call 24/7 for all plumbing emergencies.
Serving the greater Lehigh Valley, we are a three generation family-owned plumbing service with more than 60 years of experience. S. Agentis Plumbing never charges extra for emergency calls, overtime, or holidays. Call 610-867-6001, and to find money saving coupons and for more information, visit www.agentisplumbing.com
Information Provided By:
Tina Bradford
Writer/Public Relations/Social Media
http://twitter.com/TinaBradfordPR
