U.S. plumber bracing for 'Brown Friday' after Thanksgiving

Ben Hooper
·1 min read
UPI
Roto-Rooter said the day after Thanksgiving is known to plumbers as "Brown Friday," bringing 50% more calls than the average Friday. Photo by stevepb/Pixabay.com

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A plumbing company is warning U.S. residents about "Brown Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, which is the busiest of the year for plumbers.

Roto-Rooter said Brown Friday marks the busiest day of the year, averaging 50% more calls than the average Friday. Thanksgiving weekend overall averages 21% more calls for service than the average Thursday-Sunday period.

The company said the main culprits are clogs in kitchen sinks, toilets and garbage disposals.

"Often, the case is that a house already has partially clogged drains that go unnoticed, until holiday guests arrive and overwhelm the system," company spokesman Paul Abrams said on Roto-Rooter's website. "Even more problematic is that virtually every traditional Thanksgiving dish is a drain clogging culprit."

Roto-Rooter offered some advice for avoiding Thanksgiving-weekend plumbing catastrophes, including keeping fats and cooking oils away from the sink, wiping grease out of pots and pans with a paper towel before washing them, and not putting potential clog-causing foods such as poultry skins, celery, fruit and potato peels down the garbage disposal.