North Texas plumbers are preparing for the busiest time of the year, the days surrounding Thanksgiving. Plumbers traditionally call the day after Thanksgiving "Brown Friday."
This time of year, the biggest culprit in kitchen drains are dumped cooking oil, grease and food buildup, plumbers say.
"Most of the buildup in the kitchen line is when folks are putting all kinds if foods down their garbage disposal and putting grease down there and things like that," said Baker Brothers plumber Mike Walker.
NBC 5 tagged along with Walker on Brown Friday 2018 as he unclogged a drain in Plano. He unclogs six to eight drains across North Texas every day.
"[It is] normally on kitchen lines that people are putting a lot of stuff down," he said. "It will be down to about an inch to an inch and a half of pipe where water is going through."
It can be more than an inconvenience. Clogs can get very expensive.
"Your older houses that have cast iron and things like that…those pipes can rot out," Walker said.
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Walker explained that could cost you between $8,000 and $15,000 to replace.
Baker Brothers offers ideas to keep your pipes and drains clean and safe:
• Avoid putting stringy, fibrous or starchy waste in the garbage disposal, like poultry skins, celery, fruit and potato peels.
• Never put coffee grinds in the drain. It hardens easily and clogs quickly
• Never put pasta or bread because they expand easily
• Try using cold water instead of hot water so grease solidifies and is flushed through a pipe. Otherwise, the grease could stick to the pipe.
• Don't pour cooking oils or fats down the drain. They build up in the pipes like "clogged arteries."
• Wipe off greasy plates and pots with paper towels and then throw away the towels.
