plumbing woes can strain seasonal spirit

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Plumbing woes can strain seasonal spirit

By Robin McGinnis
rmcginnis@chronline.com

Nick George / The Chronicle
Rich Outumuro, owner of Rich’s Rooter Service, demonstrates drain cleaning with the use of a rooter machine in his Centralia home Tuesday. Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to be the busiest times of the year for rooter services because kitchen drains often become clogged from bird fat, celery and potatoes, according to Outumuro.

If you find yourself calling a plumber during one of the holidays this season, chances are, you’re not alone.
“Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s. They’re all busy,” said plumber Rich Outumuro, owner of Rich’s Rooter Service in Centralia. “It’s all because 20 people are there for a day, and people are putting different things down the disposal.”
Of the 150 plumbing jobs he has in a month, Outumuro estimated that 35 of them involve kitchen sinks.
“Thirty of those are problems with disposals,” he said. “But it seems like the only thing we do is kitchens during the holidays.”
Outumuro, who has 23 years of plumbing experience, dislikes disposals to the degree that he won’t install them for customers.
Garbage simply isn’t meant for the kitchen sink, he said.
“It’s like this: Toilets are sitting on a 4-inch pipe because they are part of a waste line,” he said. “Everybody’s kitchen uses the smallest pipe possible, only an inch and a half, because it’s a water-based pipe.”
One of the biggest culprits during a holiday feast is celery, according to Outumuro.
“It’s stringy and fibrous, and it creates like a hair-net effect in the drain,” he said.
Outumuro also warned against potatoes, which tend to create an applesauce-like texture, clogging drains.
Dave Critcher with Chehalis Plumbing agreed with Outumuro’s assessment of garbage disposals.
“I don’t think people should have them, period,” he said. “People abuse them, and they’re really a tough job to unplug.”
In Critcher’s 30 years of plumbing, he has seen grease, chicken bones and even broken glass clogging up pipes.
According to Critcher, some people assume that because a grease is liquefied that it can be poured down the drain.
“But you just can’t,” he said. “(Disposals) are really kind of an unsanitary thing.”
Critcher recalled having to cut out an entire pipe because an artichoke had gotten trapped in the garbage disposal.
“It was disgusting,” he said. “Personally, I just don’t think you should have a disposal.”
But if you do have one, avoid throwing any type of vegetable peeling down the kitchen sink, according to Kelly Jensen with D.J. Plumbing in Centralia.
“Those are items that just need to go into the solid waste,” he said.
Also, be careful with utensils when you’re operating the disposal, Jensen said.
“Often, the spoon, or whatever is being used to push food down the disposal, will get dropped and get stuck in there as well,” he said.
And while kitchen sink issues occupy the majority of plumbers’ time during the holidays, it isn’t the only problem they see.
“Septic systems will get more use with 12 people in the house,” Jensen said. “It’s being more significantly impacted than if it were just being used by a family of four.”
A septic system’s high-water alarm is often alerted, but homeowners shouldn’t always assume the worst, Jensen said.
“Many times, it’s not a real big issue,” he said. “It’ll correct itself as the use goes back to normal.”
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Robin McGinnis covers business issues for The Chronicle. She may be reached at 807-8231, or by e-mail at rmcginnis@chronline.com.

Tips from the plumber

Thanksgiving plumbing tips:
• Don’t put turkey skin or bones, celery stalks, shrimp peels or onion peels down the garbage disposal.
• Avoid pouring grease into the drain.
• Throw large quantities of scraps into the trash, not the sink.
• Wipe out greasy pans and plates with a paper towel before washing.
• Rinse dishes thoroughly before putting them in the dishwasher.
• Run hot water when using the garbage disposal.
• Regularly use microbial drain treatment to help prevent grease, sludge or soap buildup.
• Use single-ply toilet paper in bathrooms that will be used frequently.
Source: Mr. Rooter

Bathroom sinks

Kitchen Sinks

Antique Vanities