Plumbers see high calls on ‘Brown Friday,’ the day after Thanksgiving

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Thanksgiving brings joy to family and friends, but it can cause problems for the pipes in homes. Black Friday is a busy day for those shopping around for the best deals. Pete Sanders, the president of a plumbing company, said the Friday after Thanksgiving is busy for a different reason.

“Your main sewer system might be not in the greatest shape and it’s used to three or four people. But when you have 15 or 20 over for the holidays, it overloads it and then people cleaning up, they don’t really know how to use their kitchen sink, drains or their disposal,” he said.

WBIR asked people in Knoxville what they put down their drains and garbage disposals.

“Try to avoid anything that’s food-oriented, more liquid. I try to recycle and try to keep the drain clean,” said Bo Davis, a Knoxville neighbor.

“I know if you put the grease down the drain, it’s gonna stop the drain up and it costs money to get it cleaned out. So I’d do the smart thing and put it in the garbage can,” said Jimmy Joseph, a Knoxville neighbor.

While the people we spoke to know the right way to dispose of waste, Sanders said not everyone does. Plumbers call the day after Thanksgiving “Brown Friday,” because of the increase in calls they get for clogged toilets, drains and garbage disposals.

Brad Partain, a service technician at a plumbing company, gave a demonstration on how he clears a clogged pipe.

“Just feed your cable in and out, kind of work it back and forth until you feel a clog and then once that breaks free, you can hook your P-trap back up, run some water, see if it’s flowing properly,” said Partain.

Sanders said it’s best not to put any solid foods down garbage disposals. Instead, people should just put liquids down their drowns and toss solid waste and oil in the trash.

“I think a lot of people think that just because they have a disposal, you could just run everything in there. The disposal is basically for things that may not get raked off the plates or something like that. The disposal’s never be used as a solid waste disposal system,” said Sanders.

There will also be a warning if people put the wrong things down the drain. Sanders said people may hear bubbling and gurgling, which can be a precursor to potential problems. It can be an indication that the drains are full and vents are being compromised, making air only able to escape in small areas.