‘Brown Friday’ sees surge in plumbing calls amid holiday gatherings and kitchen mishaps

AUSTIN, Texas — Plenty of shoppers were out celebrating Black Friday, but how many have heard of Brown Friday?

During the holidays, homes are inundated with guests from near and far. Not only do all these people put added strain on these otherwise single-family homes, but the massive amount of food can too if not disposed of in the kitchen properly. That’s why next to frozen pipes bursting in the winter, Abacus Plumbing, Air Conditioning, and Electrical says this weekend is one of their busiest weekends of the year: so busy it’s earned that nickname.

After all the stress of cooking and preparing, Erin Thompson says it’s nice to do a bit of Christmas shopping with the family.

“I cleaned the house for probably about a week before everybody came over,” Thompson said. “My daughter moved to California, and she wanted some ski boots… and my child just turned 13, and so we got a little birthday present.”

Not only is her daughter in town, but her household more than doubled in size for the holiday.

“Well, I had my brothers over and my brother’s fiance, and then an auntie…” Thompson said.

As a realtor, she’s well aware of the risks this could mean for the home.

“Many years ago, I made the mistake of putting carrot peels down my drain and learned that that’s a big no-no,” Thompson said.

But not everyone is. This is why Vic Fredlund with Abacus Plumbing, a sponsor of CBS Austin, says it’s such a busy time for his team.

“Just from a sheer volume standpoint of these kinds of restrictions, drain stoppages things like that, this is going to be one of our busiest weekends for sure,” Fredlund said.

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So busy, in fact, it’s actually earned a nickname…

“Brown Friday is a bit of a tongue in cheek, we call it, with drainage issues because of the large amount of family members and visitors homes are having,” Fredlund said.

Fredlund says a majority of the problems start in the kitchen.

“Everybody wants to treat the garbage disposal is just to kind of catch-all,” Fredlund said. “Try to not put stringy fiber, starchy foods like potato skins, poultry skin, and celery down in that garbage disposal.”

He says to also be wary of what you put down the drain.

“Things like pasta and bread. Don’t put those down the drain. They expand. You can stop a drain up,” Fredlund said. “Coffee grounds, if you put coffee grounds down the drain, they can solidify and stop the drain up.”

And that includes the toilet.

“Things like cotton balls, face wipes, paper towels, don’t belong going down the toilet – it’s not designed for it,” Fredlund said.

If you’re not careful, an emergency repair could cost thousands of dollars.

“Be smart about what you’re putting down the drains,” Fredlund said. “Just have some common sense about what you expect your plumbing to do.”

Abacus Plumbing also recommends calling ahead of the holidays if you notice any kind of drainage or plumbing problems beforehand.

Fredlund says a preemptive call will always be much less expensive than an emergency one. Appointments can be booked by calling 512-943-7070 or visiting their website [abacusplumbing.com].