Getting back to large gatherings and overnight visitors during the holidays, it will be a change in our daily schedules. The busy days ahead often put stress on our plumbing system, challenging it. Increased laundry loads, further use of the garbage disposal, and extremely cold temperatures are just some of the strains of your plumbing. Here are some tips to prevent holiday plumbing issues:
Check/Replace Washing Machine Hoses. Due to COVID-19 prompting many families to wash their clothing more often, consider replacing your laundry machine hoses, particularly if they’re rubber. Machine hoses work like drains, building up debris, becoming clogged in the hose. Clogged hoses can cause a flood.
Be Mindful of the Garbage Disposal. While most families with not be hosting large gatherings, there will still be more food and meals around the holidays. With the increase in meals and baking Christmas cookies, bread, and pies, your garbage disposal system will feel it.
Avoid putting certain foods down the disposal: fatty foods, fibrous vegetables, eggshells, and potatoes. These foods have membranes or fibers which wrap around the disposal blades, clogging the system.
Avoid Frozen Pipe Bursts
Extremely cold temperatures can wreak havoc on our indoor pipes. To avoid pipes bursting:
• Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors. This allows warmer air to circulate the plumbing, especially if your sinks are on an exterior wall.
• Turn on the faucets to allow for a cold water drip. Trickling water will help keep pipes from freezing.
• Set the thermostat to the same degree/temperature during day and night.
• If you’re planning to be away during the winter, keep the heat on in your home, set to a temperature no lower than 55° F.
The holidays can be a hectic time, however, you don’t have to stress about getting the job done right with Gene Wagner Plumbing, recently ranked as one of the top two plumbers in Southeastern Wisconsin by Milwaukee’s A-List. Contact us or call us at 414-541-9217.
