How to Prevent Plumbing Emergencies This Holiday Season

It's that time of the year again... Families and friends come together, share meals, celebrations and enjoy parties. There's good food, free-flowing drinks and boundless laughter, and everything else that signifies good times. It's fun and games, until a plumbing emergency puts a damper on it - quite literally, sometimes. From Halloween until the early parts of January, Ridgeway Mechanical sees the most plumbing emergencies.

As more people than usual congregate in homes, it places a lot of strain on the plumbing system. Not only the residential drains and supply lines are under pressure, but that of the whole neighborhood. On top of that, there is the strain that the cold winter weather places too. This means that:

• more people showering and doing laundry requires more water.
• more waste as more people shed hair, skin and soap scum, and sanitary waste clog up the sewers.
• more food is being prepared, which places strain on the garbage disposal and thus the drains.

In addition to these challenges, fixtures, water-using appliances and water heaters work harder. All these issues combine to result in plumbing emergencies, ranging from clogged drains or sewers, flooded bathrooms, frozen pipes and more.

Few things can sully a merry and bright season as much as a flooded kitchen or basement, or a clogged toilet. However, prevention is cure, and here at Ridgeway Plumbing, we are known to provide solutions.

This year, we would like to help you prevent plumbing emergencies, and that's why we decided to share these Happy Holiday Plumbing tips with you:

1. Get a Pre-Season Plumbing Inspection

If you're unsure as to whether your plumbing system can cater to the additional strain, we recommend that you call us now for a pre-season plumbing inspection. We will check that your toilets flush as they should, that your pipes are insulated, and that your drains are clean.

2. Put Prevention Systems in Place

No matter how well you look after your plumbing system, guests have their own ideas about how things are done. But you can still ensure they don't place too much strain on your plumbing system with the following strategies:

• Put waste baskets in the bathroom so that they can throw away feminine products, facial tissues and baby wipes, rather than flushing it.



• Add drain strainers to the bathroom drains to help catch hair, especially if visitors have long hair. Gradual grease buildup, soap and hair tend to build up inside the pipe walls, leading to clogs.
• Ensure that you handle the garbage disposal and oily pots yourself, or that you show those helping you how you like to wipe the congealed grease from the pots with paper towels. If other people will be helping with dishes, ask them to not to put fibrous, stringy and hard-to-bring items down the waste disposal. Also show them how to run cold water for a few seconds before and after running the garbage disposal to flush the main line.



• Clear the filter on your washing machine and dishwasher more frequently to avoid blockages that could cause flooding or burst pipes.

3. Time Your Water Use Carefully

With more people in the house using water, it can be hard for everyone to get a good, hot shower.

Run the washing machine and dishwasher at night, or at other times when hot water is not in use. This will help conserve hot water, while maintaining adequate water pressure.

Sometimes, you can do everything right, but still experience a plumbing emergency. When that happens, don't hesitate to contact Anta Plumbing.