You’ve spent the entire day cooking and feasting with friends and family. Everyone has a full belly and is full of good cheer. The turkey and fixings were delicious, and reconnecting with loved ones feels particularly gratifying in these pandemic times.
Fortunately, the relatives jump into action when it’s time to clean up. Uncle is at the sink rinsing dishes, and Auntie is clearing plates.
But wait! An eager-to-help nephew just poured remaining turkey drippings down the drain. Oh no!!!
Even though excess fat, grease, and oil appear to flow easily down the drain, optics can be deceiving – and it doesn’t take long for problems to emerge. Grease can quickly coat the inside of your sink drain and cause serious clogging. Grease clogs are stubborn and difficult to clear. Once a layer of coating affixes to the drainpipe interior, it’s only a matter of time until you’ll see water backing up in your sink. Once your sink drain is clogged with fat and grease, there’s really only one option: Time to call a plumber. Off-the-shelf liquid drain cleaners will not clear your grease-clogged drain and might even exacerbate the problem.
Yes you can hire a 24-hour emergency plumber to visit your house on Thanksgiving evening, and a professional technician will dutifully bring a drain snake and spend an hour or two boring out the clogged drain in your kitchen. Meanwhile your relatives will attempt to hold a conversation over the thunderous grinding of the snake cable working it’s way toward the main sewer lateral and out of your house. How exasperating! Not to mention the bill: After-hours, emergency plumbing services are not cheap. Some might say the rates are outrageous. You can easily expect to pay over $500 – and as much at $1,500 – for emergency plumbing service on a major holiday.
As they say: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In this case: “A moment of explaining to your helpful guests where excess grease drippings belong could be worth a $1,000 or more! Do not put butter, fat, oils, grease, or drippings down the sink drain. Ever.” Identify a container where fat and grease drippings should be collected and make sure all your considerate guests know where to find it.
You deserve to keep that money for Christmas gifts, and your guests deserve an intimate and undisturbed visit to your home. Not only that: Your plumber can stay home with his family as well. Grease not down the drain is a win-win-win for everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone from the Pipe Spy family!