Your Holiday Wish List

By Bill Aldridge

I realize that it is less than a week until the Christmas holiday.  You are probably busy trying to put the last minute touches on the holiday decorations, the menu for Christmas dinner, not to mention completing Santa’s list and getting ready for the arrival of relatives.  So this is probably not the time of year that you normally spend a lot of time thinking about your plumbing.  But perhaps it should be.  With the holidays can come stress not only to you, your budget and your household, but also to your home’s plumbing.  The influx of guests can have a number of unexpected consequences to your plumbing that can do more damage to your holiday budget than a few Chistmas gifts ever could.  So in order to keep you from adding a plumber to your list of holiday guests, I have prepared a list of items that you should double check while you still have time.

The Ghost of Christmas Dinner Past

While the stresses of preparing the holiday feast can leave many overwhelmed, think of how your pipes feel.  Particularly if you allow relatives or family friends to help you with the cleanup after the dinner is done, there is a high probability that they might wind up putting something down the drain or the disposal that can stop your pipes up cold.  This being said, I have come up with a short list of items that you should print out and tack above the sink come Christmas.

Santa requests that you don’t put the following into the disposal:

Turkey

Stuffing

Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Potato Peels

Onion Peels

Celery or Squash

Leftover Casseroles

Pumpkin Pie

(All of the above need to be discarded in the trash.  Thanks from Mrs. Claus.)

The problem with peels, rinds and fat is that they can stop either the disposal or congeal in the pipes leading from it.  If you notice that the water is slow to drain from your sink after doing the holiday dishes, try filling your sink with hot water and a few drops of liquid dish detergent.  Then pull the plug and hope for the best.  If you notice a foul odor emanating from the disposal, below is a video that shows you how to solve this problem.

Bathroom Backup

As bad as the kitchen sink can be when it comes to holiday backups, the bathroom can be even worse.  This is largely due to such things as grooming products, cosmetics and hair.  If any of your guests bring along with them infants or tots it is a certainty that they will also tote disposable diapers, which many people believe can be flushed.  (Mainly because it says so on the package.)  Toddlers are also renown for flushing toys and other objects down the commode.  So you need to keep a weather eye on them as well.

If the toilet does become clogged, don’t panic.  Below is a description of how to deal with this dilemma.

When it comes to sink clogs, the last thing you want to do is reach for a caustic drain cleaner.  (In fact if you have young children around I wouldn’t even have these products in the house at all.) 

Step #1: Remove the drain and clean it out.

Many times the clog is either in the drain or just below it where you can fish it out with a pair of needle nosed pliers.

Step #2: Remove the P-Trap

If it is further down the drain than that, then I recommend that you watch the video below to learn how to remove the Popup Assembly.  Any clog located beyond that point will require you to first attempt to plunge and then snake the drain.

The problem with caustic drain cleaners is not only are they dangerous to handle and use, but they don’t just dissolve the clog, they also tend to erode the pipes as well.  The cost of hiring a plumber to snake your drain is preferable to having him tear open a wall or floor to replace a burst pipe.  Also bear in mind that if improperly handled, caustic drain cleaners can also land you in the ER. 

If you absolutely, positively want to try to soften the clog, here is a recipe for a non-toxic drain cleaner that you can try.

First you need to drain all the standing water out of the bowl.  Then add a box of baking soda and a half bottle of vinegar into the toilet or sink and let it stand for several hours or overnight. .  This mixture will immediately start to foam.  After allowing the baking soda/vinegar mixture to do its thing all night long, try pouring a bucket of hot water into the bowl (or sink) and flushing the toilet, followed by one more round of plunging if necessary.  If this doesn’t get the job done, it’s time to call in the professionals.

With a little foresight and a handy backup plan you and your guests should be able to get through the holiday without yours truly having to come down the chimney.  So here’s wishing you a safe and happy holiday from the doctor of Plumbology.

Bill Aldridge is the Doctor of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  For more helpful plumbing tips and how-to videos, go to http://aldridgesonsplumbing.com

Plumbing & the Great Outdoors

By Bill Aldridge

In the dark days before plumbing was invented, the bathroom was synonymous with the great outdoors.  Now that we have the modern convenience of indoor plumbing, most people don’t give the great outdoors much of a thought.  But maybe they should.  The reason I say this is due to the fact that a fair proportion of the plumbing issues we are called upon to solve involve situations caused by factors outside of the home.  Below are some examples.

Root Intrusion

The reason so many people live in the suburbs as opposed to the big city is for the fresh air and greenery.  The only problem is that green things like shrubs and trees have roots that run deep. If you think an oak tree is big, you should see their root systems.  While the roots are used to provide the nutritional requirements of trees, they are also preprogrammed to search for any source of available water.  It’s this love of water that makes root intrusion one of the primary reasons that sewer lines clog, sometimes partially and sometimes completely.  This is why it is important to call out your friendly neighborhood plumber before a slow sewer becomes a stopped sewer.  We have the tools to inspect and correct root intrusion before it ruins your day. 

Leaf Litter

Autumn is the time of year when leaves fall from the trees.  It is also a time of the year when converging cold fronts come together to create heavy rain as they pass through Jacksonville.  Put the two together and you the formula for a disaster of biblical proportions.  Leaf litter tends to clump together, clogging gutters and drains.  As anyone who works around water knows, if it can’t find the shortest way to exit a building or parking lot, it will make some other arrangement.  This means backups and flooding, either of which can be expensive to remediate.  So rule number one to keep this problem from causing damage is to make sure that gutters and drains are kept free of leaf litter.  Depending upon the amount of trees you have in your yard you may need to clear them out several times in the fall and winter

Critters

While most people as a rule do not live with wildlife, sometimes wildlife decides to move in with them.  Small animals such as squirrels, raccoons and the occasional opossum have been known to set up housekeeping in or near homes, sometimes blocking a drain or vent in the process.  Even nesting birds can clog up the works, particularly in vent stacks that need to remain open in order for your plumbing to perform its job properly.  They have also been known to clog up downspouts as well.  I have also known fire ants to nest in leaf litter that has been left untended for too long.

Wear and Tear

Believe it or not, simple wear and tear on outdoor fixtures and pipes are rampant in the winter months.  Even though we don’t see the kind of weather extremes that they do up north, the occasional hard freezes that we do experience take their toll as pipes, faucets sprinkler lines and hoses contract and expand, sometimes resulting in cracks that tend to foster leaks.   My advice to homeowners is to check all their outdoor faucets and sprinkler system at least twice per year (Spring and Fall) to make sure that they are all functioning properly and that there are no noticeable defects.  Also this is an excellent time to also inspect your sewer cleanout to prevent potential sewer backups. (see video above)

The bottom line if you hope to keep your home free from the ravages of the great outdoors is to take the time to do a little preventative maintenance twice per year.  And thank your lucky stars that you don’t live in the part of the country where bears, cougars and coyotes reside.  Because it takes more than the services of a plumber to resolve those issues.

Bill Aldridge is the Doctor of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  For more helpful plumbing tips and how-to videos, go to http://aldridgesonsplumbing.com