Making and serving a home-cooked meal is quite possibly one of the sweetest things you can do for someone special on Valentine’s Day (after all, who doesn’t love something home-made?), but when you choose to be the host instead of going out, you become responsible for a lot more than just the food. Let’s look at an example – you and your sweetie have just about finished dinner and you head on over to the sink to start to clean up, and then…your garbage disposal starts acting up. And to top it off, your drains are moving slower than ever, making the clean up process nearly impossible. At this point, it’s up to you to figure out what steps to take next so that your date night isn’t cut short.
But let’s take a step back for just one second – what if there was a way to avoid an emergency like this so that you and your date can have the entire night to yourselves? The good news? There is! Here are a few tips that you can keep in mind to prevent a plumbing emergency in your home on a night as sweet as this:
Use Hot Water
When you’re done with the sink, turn on the hot water and let it run down your drains for a few minutes. Doing this after each use can help keep any residue or oils from food products flowing through your pipes so that they don’t wind up sitting on them and causing a blockage instead.
Be Gentle With The Disposal
Instead of getting as much down your garbage disposal as possible in the first try, send your waste down it slowly. Although you might be anxious to get back to your Valentine, the quicker you go and the rougher you are, the more likely it is that you’ll wind up with a disposal that isn’t working properly.
Save Your Grease
Depending on what meal you choose to make, you may find that you have some cooking grease left over. But, instead of pouring it down the drain to get things ready for when your date arrives, take a few extra minutes to clean it up properly. An easy way to do so is to pour it into a sealed container that you can let freeze – once the grease is frozen, you can toss it into the bag with your regular trash.
Although you certainly don’t need an excuse to do something special for someone that you care about, we realize that Valentine’s Day only comes once a year, which makes it even more important that your plans go smoothly. But, just in case you do have some trouble with your plumbing before, during, or after your date night is over, please do not hesitate to give us a call at (714) 630-8766 or (949) 725-9955 for emergency plumbing service – we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!