Thanksgiving means family and food. Spending time with our loved ones and eating amazing food. Who doesn’t love the smell of turkey roasting, mash potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie baking in the oven? If you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll want to be careful what you put down the disposal or instead of spending time with family you’ll be spending it trying to unclog the kitchen sink. We’ve provided you with a list of foods you’ll want to avoid putting down the drain.
Tips to help prevent disrupting sink back-ups during your holiday
Avoid throwing anything greasy down the drain, even turkey skin. The grease eventually solidifies inside your pipes, creating a sticky mess. This sticky muck in your drain traps other food items in your pipes, clogging up your sink. Scrape greasy dishes, plates, and pans into the garage to minimize any fats or oils that can end up in the drain.
Don’t throw turkey bones down the drain. Instead of gobbling them up, the blades on your disposal can become dull or break. The bones can even jam your disposal, causing the motor to burn out in the process. Dispose of them in your trash can instead.
Celery sticks and onion peels, the ingredients in stuffing can be hard on your disposal. Be careful to avoid putting these fibrous veggies down the drain. The same goes for potato peels when making mashed potatoes. Stringy, fibrous veggies can get wrapped around the disposal blades preventing them from turning.
If you have leftover mashed potatoes, first, first why would you? But if you do, don’t put too much down the disposal at one time. They can make a thick paste and block the drain.
Keep the water on when running the disposal. Start the disposal before you start pushing food down the drain. Make sure you don’t put too much food down the drain at one time. And lastly, keep trash bags ready and make sure to throw away any foods that shouldn’t go down the drain.
Don’t expect your disposal to be able to gobble up all of your Thanksgiving leftovers. Take our advice and throw some of the leftovers in the trash. If you do end up having problems, Michael’s Plumbing is your local Orlando plumbing expert and can help with any kitchen sink clogs or backups. Call us at (407) 219-9772 or contact us online.