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🦃🚫 What NOT to Put Down the Drain After Thanksgiving Dinner

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By Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Orange County — 949.371.2025

What NOT to Put Down the Drain After Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is all about great food, family gatherings, and festive memories — but once dinner is over, cleanup can quickly turn into a plumbing disaster if the wrong foods end up in your sink or garbage disposal.

In the plumbing world, the day after Thanksgiving is known as “Brown Friday” because it’s one of the busiest days of the year for emergency drain calls. Why?
Because homes overload their kitchen plumbing with foods it simply wasn’t designed to handle.

To help you avoid slow drains, clogs, backups, and broken garbage disposals, here’s your complete guide to what NEVER belongs in your drain after Thanksgiving dinner.

🥓❌ 1. Grease, Oil & Turkey Drippings

Grease may look like harmless liquid when it’s hot, but once it cools, it solidifies like wax inside your pipes.

Why It’s a Problem

  • Creates thick, sticky buildup
  • Hardens deep inside pipes
  • Traps food particles
  • Leads to severe clogs

🔥 Top Cause of “Brown Friday” drain blockages

What to Do Instead

  • Pour grease into a can or jar
  • Let it solidify
  • Toss it into the trash
  • Wipe pans before washing

🥔❌ 2. Potato Peels & Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes are a plumber’s nightmare because they turn into a glue-like paste that sticks to pipe walls.

Why They Clog Drains

  • Starch expands
  • Turns into thick paste
  • Wraps around disposal blades

Better Option

Scrape all potato remnants into the trash or compost.

🍞🍚❌ 3. Stuffing, Bread, Rice & Other Expanding Foods

Anything that expands when wet can cause immediate clogs inside your plumbing.

This Includes

  • Stuffing
  • Dinner rolls
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Cornbread

Why They Cause Trouble

They swell and block the drain line — often requiring professional drain cleaning in Orange County.

☕❌ 4. Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds are tiny, but they clump together inside your pipes like wet sand.

What Happens

  • They settle in traps
  • Mix with grease
  • Form solid blockages

Proper Disposal

Throw grounds in the trash or compost — never the sink.

🍗❌ 5. Bones, Corn Cobs & Hard Scraps

Your garbage disposal is NOT designed for hard, dense food scraps.

These Items Can:

  • Break disposal blades
  • Burn out the motor
  • Jam the mechanism
  • Damage the grinding chamber

Throw these into the trash — not the disposal.

🌽🥬❌ 6. Eggshells & Stringy Vegetables

Stringy vegetables and thin membranes wrap around disposal blades and prevent proper grinding.

Avoid Putting Down the Drain:

  • Celery
  • Onion skins
  • Corn husks
  • Pumpkin strings
  • Artichoke leaves

These can stop your disposal — and your cleanup — in seconds.

💡 Pro Tips to Protect Your Sink After Thanksgiving

💧 1. Run Cold Water, Not Hot

Cold water keeps grease solid so blades can chop it — instead of melting it into your pipes.

⚡ 2. Feed Food Slowly

Never dump large amounts into the disposal all at once.

🧼 3. Scrape Plates First

The less food in the drain, the better.

🧊🍋 4. Clean the Disposal Naturally

Drop in ice cubes and lemon peels to clean and freshen.

🛑 5. Know When to Stop

If the disposal hums, grinds slowly, or the sink backs up — turn it off immediately.

🚨 Warning Signs of a Post-Thanksgiving Clog

Call Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Orange County ASAP if you notice:

⚠️ Slow draining
⚠️ Water backing up in the sink
⚠️ Bubbling/gurgling noises
⚠️ Bad smells coming from the drain
⚠️ Disposal humming but not spinning
⚠️ Standing water that won’t go down

These are early signs of a blockage that can quickly turn into flooding or sewer backup.

🛠️ When to Call a Professional Plumber

If your drain or garbage disposal is already clogged, don’t use chemical drain cleaners — they can damage pipes and disposals.

Instead, call the pros.
At Mr. Rooter Plumbing OC, we offer:

✔️ Professional drain cleaning
✔️ HydroScrub® jetting
✔️ Garbage disposal repair & replacement
✔️ Sink line clearing
✔️ 24/7 emergency service
✔️ Upfront, honest pricing

We’re always ready to help — even during holiday weekends.

📞 Avoid Post-Thanksgiving Plumbing Emergencies — Call Mr. Rooter OC

Thanksgiving cleanup shouldn’t turn into a plumbing disaster. With a few smart habits and a little extra care, you can protect your drains — and your holiday weekend.

But if something goes wrong?

Call the experts.

📱 Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Orange County
📞 949.371.2025
Available 24/7 — fast, friendly, and professional.