Is Your Kitchen Drain Ready for Christmas Dinner?

Thanksgiving was just the warm-up!! Now comes the main event: Christmas dinner, cookie baking marathons, and enough houseguests to make your plumbing work harder than ever.

Your kitchen drain is about to face its biggest test of the year, and most Dayton homeowners aren’t ready for it.

Why December Is Peak Drain Season

You’re cooking more, hosting more, and probably pouring things down your drain that have no business being there. Grease from that honey-glazed ham. Potato peels from feeding twelve people. Coffee grounds because someone made four pots before noon.

Your drain can handle a lot. But “a lot” has limits, and December is when most people find them.

What Your Garbage Disposal Actually Does (And Doesn’t Do)

Your garbage disposal isn’t a trash compactor. It’s designed to handle small food scraps that rinse off plates…not the remnants of an entire holiday feast.

Here’s what you shouldn’t put down there:

• Grease, oil, or fat (it solidifies in your pipes)
• Fibrous vegetables like celery or potato peels
• Eggshells (they create a sandy paste)
• Coffee grounds (they clump and clog)
• Pasta or rice (they expand with water)

That’s most of Christmas dinner, by the way.

The Right Way to Prevent Holiday Clogs

Want to keep your drains flowing through New Year’s? Here’s what actually works:

Scrape, don’t rinse. Use a paper towel to wipe grease off plates before washing them. Throw food scraps in the trash or compost bin instead of washing them down the drain.

Run cold water. When you do use the disposal, run cold water before, during, and for 15 seconds after. Cold water keeps grease solid so it can move through your pipes instead of coating them.

Do the ice cube trick. Drop a handful of ice cubes and rock salt down your disposal once a week. It scrapes away buildup and keeps the blades sharp. (Yes, it’s loud. Your drain will thank you anyway.)

Skip the “natural” drain cleaners. Baking soda and vinegar make a fun volcano for your second grader’s science project, but they don’t actually clean drains. And chemical drain cleaners? They corrode pipes and rarely solve the real problem.

When You Need Professional Drain Cleaning

Sometimes prevention isn’t enough. Maybe your holiday guests already dumped half a turkey down the drain. Maybe your pipes were already struggling before December hit.

Signs you need professional drain cleaning:

• Water draining slowly (or not at all)
• Gurgling sounds from your drain or toilet
• Bad smells coming from the sink
• Water backing up in unexpected places

Spartan Plumbing’s technicians use professional-grade equipment to clear clogs without damaging your pipes. We find the root cause, not just the symptom, so you’re not calling us back in two weeks.

A Little Prevention Beats a Christmas Crisis

Nobody wants to spend Christmas afternoon dealing with a backed-up sink. Take ten minutes now to be smart about what goes down your drain, and you’ll actually enjoy your holiday instead of spending it with a plunger.

And if it’s too late for prevention? We’ve got your back. Contact us or call us at (937) 203-0339!