🎄Holiday Plumbing Emergencies🎄

Merry Christmas from Echols Plumbing & Air Conditioning LLC - We are also celebrating our 50 year anniversary!

What Causes Them and How to Prevent a Nightmare Before Christmas

Let’s break down the most common issues and how to keep your home running smoothly when the holiday rush hits.

1. Kitchen Sink Clogs: The Holiday Classic Nobody Wants

The kitchen becomes the busiest room in the house during December. Between cooking, rinsing, prepping, and cleaning, the sink takes a beating. It’s one of the most searched plumbing topics this time of year, mostly because people forget how sensitive drain lines really are.

Why holiday sinks clog more than usual:

• Grease and oils cool fast and harden inside pipes

• Patato peels and starchy foods swell and stick

• Coffee grounds settle and create thick sludge

• Pasta and rice expand inside the line

• Guests accidentally overload the disposal

How to avoid a mid-dinner disaster:

• Wipe grease into the trash instead of pouring it down the drain

• Use cold water when running your disposal

• Toss peels, pasta, and fibrous foods into the trash or compost

• Give the disposal time to clear before adding more scraps

A slow drain today is almost always a clog tomorrow — catching it early saves a lot of holiday stress.

2. Garbage Disposal Jams: When the Kitchen Helper Gives Up

Searches like “garbage disposal humming but not working” and “disposal jam fix” skyrocket during December. It’s a simple machine, but it isn’t designed for everything.

What doesn’t belong in the disposal:

• Bones

• Fruit pits

• Corn husks

• Celery strings

• Pasta, rice, or bread

• Eggshells

  
  

Small holiday habits — like trying to clear a plate quickly — are usually the culprit. If you hear a humming noise or it suddenly shuts off, it’s telling you it’s stuck or overheated.

Turning it off immediately is important. A jammed disposal can burn out, and that’s much more expensive than a quick repair.

3. Toilet Backups: The Unexpected Guest Nobody Invited

When houses fill with family and friends, bathroom traffic doubles or even triples. Searches like “toilet keeps clogging” and “why won’t my toilet flush fully” spike around Christmas and New Year’s.

Holiday toilet clogs usually come from:

• Excessive toilet paper

• “Flushable” wipes (they’re not truly flushable)

• Tampons or sanitary products

• Kids flushing toys or random items

• Older plumbing that can’t handle the traffic

  
  

Easy prevention steps:

• Keep a small trash can beside every toilet

• Place a short reminder sign in guest bathrooms

• Keep a plunger handy

• Fix slow flushing early — it’s a warning sign

If multiple toilets or drains act up at once, it may be a sewer line issue, not a single fixture.

4. Running Out of Hot Water Faster Than Usual

A water heater that works perfectly all year can suddenly fall behind during the holidays. It’s one of the most common searches this season: “Why do I run out of hot water so fast?”

Here’s why it happens:

• Back-to-back showers

• Bigger loads of dishes

• Laundry piles after guests arrive

• Older tanks with slow recovery time

• Sediment buildup reducing efficiency

  
  

A few simple ways to stretch your hot water:

• Space out showers by at least 15 minutes

• Run laundry and dishwasher at separate times

• Check your water heater temperature (120–125°F)

• Consider a tune-up or flushing service

If your water heater is already acting sluggish, it’s telling you it needs attention.

5. Whole-House Backups: The Big One to Watch For

When several drains slow down at once or toilets gurgle when you drain the tub, people often search “multiple drains clogged at once” or “sewer line backup signs.”

This usually means the main sewer line is struggling — and holiday cooking and extra guests push it over the edge.

Signs you may have a bigger clog:

• Water backing up into bathtubs

• Gurgling sounds in toilets

• Slow draining throughout the home

• Rotten or sewer-like odors

This is the type of problem that gets worse quickly and is difficult to fix without professional equipment.

🎄December 13th we look forward to participating in the 2025 Christmas Parade!🎄

We hope you enjoy this years holidays and new years with your family and friends. Don't forget to give Echols a call for all your plumbing & HVAC needs!

863-763-6461