Why Plumbers Are Busiest the Day After Thanksgiving
Holiday plumbing calls are predictable, which means most of them are preventable with about ten minutes of preparation.
September 1, 2026 · 5 min read
The pattern is consistent every year. A house that handles two or three people fine gets asked to handle ten, and the plumbing finds its limit.
What actually happens
The kitchen drain
Holiday cooking produces exactly the material that clogs drains: fats and oils, starchy scraps, fibrous vegetable trimmings and coffee grounds in volume.
- **Grease and oil should never go down the drain.** They flow warm and solidify further along the line. Pour cooled fat into a container and bin it.
- **Fibrous vegetables** — celery, onion skins, corn husks, artichoke — wrap around disposal impellers.
- **Starchy foods** in volume — potato peels, pasta, rice — form a paste in the trap.
- **Coffee grounds** accumulate and cause slow drains.
- **Bones and pits** are not what a disposal is for.
The disposal
Run cold water, not hot. Cold keeps fats solid so they get ground and flushed; hot melts them so they re-solidify downstream. Run water for a period after grinding stops so the line clears.
Our disposal guide covers what to do when it hums, jams or leaks.
The toilets
More people means more use, and guest bathrooms that see occasional use get a workout. A toilet that was marginal becomes a problem.
Hot water
A heater sized for the household runs out with a house full of guests. If yours was already marginal, this is when you notice.
Ten minutes of preparation
- Run hot water down the kitchen drain and confirm it drains freely. If it is already slow, deal with it before the holiday, not during.
- Check the disposal works and is not jammed.
- Test the guest bathroom toilet and check it is not running.
- Put a container by the stove for fat, so nobody has to decide in the moment.
- Know where the main shutoff is, and make sure someone else does too.
- If the water heater is old, know that before ten people arrive.
The other seasonal one
The first hard freeze often follows shortly after. Disconnect hoses, insulate exposed pipe and know your shutoff — our Texas freeze preparation guide covers it, and it is worth reading before December rather than during.
If something goes wrong
We answer the phone at any hour, including holidays. If a drain backs up mid-dinner, call (469) 338-5533 — and turn the water off at the fixture if anything is overflowing.
Frequently asked
Why do drains clog at Thanksgiving?
Holiday cooking produces the exact material that clogs lines — grease and oil, starchy scraps, fibrous vegetable trimmings and coffee grounds in volume — and a house is handling several times its usual load.
Should I run hot or cold water with the garbage disposal?
Cold. Cold water keeps fats solid so they get ground and flushed down the line. Hot water melts them and they re-solidify further along, which is where the clog forms.
What should never go down a kitchen drain?
Grease and cooking oil, fibrous vegetables like celery and onion skins, starchy foods in volume such as potato peels and rice, coffee grounds, and bones or pits.
How do I prepare the plumbing before guests arrive?
Confirm the kitchen drain runs freely, check the disposal is not jammed, test the guest toilet, put a container by the stove for fat, and make sure more than one person knows where the main shutoff is.