While the holidays can be a joyful time, you probably know already that you need a lot of planning to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible at your next holiday get-together. Your plumbing is one of the factors to include when you're planning out the logistics. 



Discover some of the different ways you can plan out your holiday time usage of drains and other plumbing features to help avoid any issues.

1. Inspect Sewer and Drain Lines

Check for any incipient problems in your sewer line and indoor drains that could cause trouble during or after the holidays. So to avoid an embarrassing and difficult episode during your family's holiday visit, call your plumber out for a drain and sewer line inspection before your next big get-together.

2. Check Septic Capacity Against Party Size

If your home has a septic system, you'll need to keep in mind that a septic system has a limited capacity. Typically, this capacity is designed to handle about two people per bedroom. So if you're on a two-bedroom septic system, having more than four or so people staying at your home could generate more waste than the system is designed to handle.

If you plan to have a lot more people staying with you than your system is designed for, you may want to hire a portable restroom for the event. Or you can pump your septic tank right before the event. This can be especially helpful if your septic tank is already overdue for pumping and has a lot of solids built up at the bottom of the tank.

3. Plan to Conserve Hot Water

Another plumbing issue that can crop up when you have more people making demands on the system is a hot water shortage. If the size of your water heater tank isn't designed for as many people as you typically invite over for the holidays, you'll want to plan some logistics out to ensure everyone has enough hot water.

For instance, avoid using hot water for things like laundry so you use the water for handwashing, showers, and similar applications. In addition, you could ask about half of your guests to shower in the morning and the others to have their showers later (such as in the evening before bed) to ensure the tank has time to refill with hot water.

4. Remind Guests About Proper Septic Etiquette

If you have a septic system, remind guests who may not be familiar with septic use how to avoid any issues on that front. Place a polite sign by the toilet, for example, reminding guests not to flush any wipes, dental floss, or similar hygiene products down the toilet. And remind your guests that efficient water use can help keep the septic running smoothly.

5. Keep Holiday Food Waste Out of the Drains

One plumbing issue that plumbers often have to deal with during the holiday season is drain blockages from holiday food. Clogged up garbage disposals, septic tank overwhelm, and drain clogs could all be related to the disposal of holiday foods with high fat or grease content. 

Reduce or eliminate the chances of such problems by keeping all holiday foods out of your drains and garbage disposal, placing the scraps in the trash instead. Keeping fats, oils, and grease out of the drains is particularly important. Instead of pouring them into the drain, pour any used cooking oils or excess grease into a can and then place it in the trash after it cools.

These are just a few ways you can plan your holiday to ensure that plumbing and septic systems play nice throughout the holiday season. If you need some plumbing maintenance to avoid issues or if you discover later that the holidays have had an effect on your plumbing after all, get in touch with a local plumber such as Complete Plumbing for convenient plumbing services.