‘Brown Friday’: Why the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest one for plumbers

While the bulk people think of the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday thanks to holiday season sales at stores plumbers have another name for it Brown Friday Related stories What s open what s closed for Thanksgiving in the DC region Stormy skies Weather woes facing Thanksgiving travelers Politics overdrinking and not flushing How to get kicked out of Thanksgiving dinner The day after Thanksgiving is noted to be the busiest plumbing operation day of the year To help you avoid an crisis call WTOP spoke with an expert for tips Patrick Garner a third-generation master plumber and director of operations at Cardinal Plumbing Heating Air in Northern Virginia commented the nickname is no joke Brown Friday is a real thing he mentioned Who doesn t love a good plumbing joke Why so various calls Garner reported WTOP several factors contribute to the surge in plumbing calls as more guests mean more cooking And more cooking leads to more scraps down the garbage disposal on Brown Friday You ve got the easy stuff like grease right reported Garner Eggshells and potato skins are among the worst offenders with Garner singling out the absolute worst one Celery is incredibly fibrous When that comes down the drain it s emerging into these tough little strings not unlike dental floss That celery will bind up that disposal Garner suggests placing a trash can next to the sink and using that instead Toilet troubles Flushable wipes are another offender Garner disclosed he often encounters on Brown Friday I am convinced whoever invented flushable wipes was a plumber because they know that no wipes are flushable He added that they are not flushable and urges those who use them to not put those down your line Garner also recommends knowing where your main shut-off valve is and how to use it It s one of the biggest safety devices that you have he mentioned It s a device that s usually in your mechanical room close to your water heater and it just turns the water off to the entire house The strangest call In his dozen years of experience Garner revealed his strangest amenity call involved a guest who clogged a toilet by pieces of turkey They were bringing in bits of turkey and flushing it down because it was so dry and they were so embarrassed that they didn t want to insult the host he announced That person just cost them a lot more money and a lot more embarrassment Source