{"id":1667,"date":"2025-11-03T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/?p=1667"},"modified":"2025-11-04T23:26:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T04:26:06","slug":"what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/plumbing-service\/what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"What NOT to Put Down Your Drain This Holiday Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The holiday season brings joy, laughter, and\u2014if you\u2019re hosting Thanksgiving\u2014an overload of cooking, cleaning, and extra guests using your home\u2019s plumbing. While it\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year, it can also be the most stressful for your drains. Plumbing emergencies skyrocket during Thanksgiving weekend, often because well-meaning homeowners (or their guests) don\u2019t realize what shouldn\u2019t go down the sink or toilet. With a little extra care, you can keep your home clog-free and stress-free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kennihan-what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kennihan-what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Infographic showing what items not to put down the drain.\" class=\"wp-image-1669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kennihan-what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kennihan-what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kennihan-what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kennihan-what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kennihan-what-not-to-put-down-your-drain-this-holiday-season.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep These Out of Your Kitchen Sink<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanksgiving feasts are famous for their rich, hearty foods\u2014but those same foods can wreak havoc on your pipes. Even if you have a garbage disposal, not everything belongs in it. Here are a few major culprits to watch for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG):<\/strong> When warm, grease and oil seem harmless. But as they cool, they solidify and cling to the inside of your pipes, forming stubborn blockages over time. Instead, pour grease into a disposable container, let it harden, and toss it in the trash.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Potato Peels and Starches:<\/strong> Mashed potatoes might be a Thanksgiving staple, but potato peels and starchy foods like rice and pasta turn into a sticky paste that gums up your pipes. Scrape plates into the trash or compost before rinsing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Turkey Bones and Food Scraps:<\/strong> Bones, fruit pits, and fibrous vegetable skins (like celery) can jam your garbage disposal. Always throw these in the trash.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Coffee Grounds and Eggshells:<\/strong> They seem small, but coffee grounds clump together and create sediment buildup, while eggshells add grit that can damage your disposal blades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Be Kind to Your Bathroom Drains Too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>More guests mean more bathroom traffic, and that\u2019s another recipe for potential plumbing issues. Toilets and drains are designed to handle human waste and toilet paper\u2014nothing else. To avoid an embarrassing backup, remind family members not to flush:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u201cFlushable\u201d Wipes:<\/strong> Despite the label, they don\u2019t break down like toilet paper and often cause major clogs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Paper Towels, Cotton Balls, or Hygiene Products:<\/strong> These absorb water and expand, easily blocking pipes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dental Floss and Hair:<\/strong> They tangle and catch debris, creating messy, hard-to-remove clogs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also smart to place small wastebaskets in bathrooms so guests aren\u2019t tempted to flush anything that doesn\u2019t belong there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Preventative Tips for a Smooth Holiday<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A few simple steps can save you from a costly plumbing call during your Thanksgiving dinner:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Run water before and after using your garbage disposal to help flush out small food particles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Space out showers if you have guests staying over\u2014this gives your water heater and drains a break.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider using <strong>sink strainers<\/strong> to catch food scraps and hair before they go down the drain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Remind guests gently about what can and can\u2019t go into the toilet or sink.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep the Focus on Family, Not Plumbing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanksgiving should be about good food and great company\u2014not dealing with a clogged sink or toilet. By following these simple drain-care tips, you\u2019ll ensure your plumbing runs smoothly all season long. Treat your pipes with a little kindness now, and they\u2019ll thank you by staying trouble-free well into the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Contact Kennihan Plumbing &amp; Heating, Inc. today to <a href=\"\/contact\/send-message\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">schedule an appointment<\/a> with our professionals. We treat your home like it&#8217;s our grandma&#8217;s home.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a little extra care, you can keep your home clog-free and stress-free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[87,46,241,36],"class_list":["post-1667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plumbing-service","tag-butler-county","tag-drain-cleaning","tag-drain-clogs","tag-plumbing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1667"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1670,"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667\/revisions\/1670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kennihans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}