The holidays are stressful for a lot of reasons - the shopping, the hosting, the crowds. On top of all that, this is the season for plumbing problems. Extra guests can overload your toilets, showers, and sinks with more clogs and increase the demand on your water heater. The additional food preparation tasks can also put a strain on your drains and garbage disposal. Follow these tips to help prevent or prepare for common holiday plumbing issues.

Check Your Water Heater

One of the most devastating problems is a broken water heater. In addition to paying for a new one to be installed, you will have guests who are uncomfortable waiting for more hot water. If your water heater is making clunking noises, leaking or isn’t heating like it used to, have it diagnosed by a professional plumber before company arrives.

Provide Drain Traps

Put drain traps or strainers over every shower, tub, or sink drain. If you have a lot of house guests, the drains can clog a lot faster without something to catch the excess hair or soap residue. To make your guests feel comfortable about keeping the drain traps on, you can clean the guest bathrooms every day and empty the drain traps for them.

As a preventative measure, it’d be a good idea to have your drains cleaned ahead of time.

Use Trash Cans

It is easier and cheaper to take the trash out more often than it is to fix a broken garbage disposal or pay to have a plumber unclog a toilet. Guests may be tempted to flush things that should not be flushed if a lined wastebasket is not available. You can put up a sign that encourages them to throw away anything that is not toilet paper. When you prepare food, throw waste into a lined trashcan instead of in the garbage disposal.

Be Prepared With Some Essentials

Since chemical drain cleaners can be damaging, try to have some other solutions on hand before your guests arrive. Have plungers and drain snakes ready for use. Also, make sure to buy some extra dish soap. When used with hot water, it can help loosen some clogs in toilets and sinks.

Bottom line: Hopefully, these tips will help you enjoy your holiday gatherings without any overflowing toilets, clogged drains, or broken garbage disposals. But if you do run into trouble, contact Evergreen Plumbing & Mechanical at (503) 714-7004.