By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com
If Thanksgiving is rough on your digestive tract, just imagine how stressful it is for your household plumbing.
Mark Cooper knows. Cooper, owner of Affordable Plumbing in Madison, knows that today through Sunday he will receive numerous emergency calls from homeowners frantic about clogged drains, seized-up garbage disposals and standing water, which quickly shut down holiday festivities.
“When I was doing my apprenticeship with the union and working with another outfit, it was nonstop on the holidays,” says Cooper, who expects to get at least one or two emergency calls before today is over. “It never stops for plumbers.”
According to Roto-Rooter’s public relations office, the day after Thanksgiving is the single busiest day of the year for the company’s residential plumbers.
“Often, a house already has partially clogged drains that aren’t noticeable until holiday guests arrive and over-
whelm the system,” said Paul Abrams, spokesman for Roto-Rooter. “Virtually every traditional Thanksgiving dish is an ideal clog culprit if it goes down the drain.”
Statistically, the Thanksgiving Day weekend brings a 21 percent increase in business, compared to other Thursday-through-Sunday periods. Kitchen plumbing calls increase 50 percent over an average Friday, said Abrams.
Cooper said he has had people prepare a plate of holiday food for him to enjoy once the job was finished. He says his most memorable Thanksgiving Day job involved using a power snake on a basement drain. His glove became entangled in the snake, and he was flopping around the work area trying to shut off the equipment.
“I had this girl who was cooking for Thanksgiving call me,” says Tony Muto, an Ashtabula-area plumber. “Her plumbing was broke, and she had no money. “She said ‘All I got to offer you are cookies and cake.’ So I said I’ll take it for my pay.”
Cooper says one of the common kitchen issues on big holidays is people trying to stuff too much garbage through the disposal.
“Garbage disposals don’t handle that much volume,” Cooper says. “The best thing to do is scoop it into the garbage. Garbage disposals plug up pretty easily.”
Fats and cooking oils dumped down the drain also can bring a plumbing system to its knees. The grease solidifies in the pipes.
“The people and the plumbing go through the ring of fire,” says Muto. “The are going to get used and used and used again. And then, (the guests) go to the bathroom.”
Oh yes, the toilet: There is nothing like a plugged toilet to bring a sudden end to the Thanksgiving Day party.
“Some guests will use a lot of toilet paper,” Cooper says, reflecting on clogs he has known. “Kids will flush their toy cars, G.I. Joe (figures), toy guns and stuff down the toilet.”
Cooper suggests that homeowners on a septic system have their tank pumped prior to inviting guests into the home for the holidays. He suggests old toilets be replaced with modern water-conserving units with a lot of flushing power. Aside from that, you can only hope and pray guests show a little respect for your plumbing when nature calls.
Just in case they don’t, here are the numbers: Cooper (440-487-589), Muto (813-8188), and Roto-Rooter (992-6401).
