20 Sep Halloween Plumbing Safety Tips

Tips for Halloween Plumbing Safety

It’s technically not even fall yet, but the bags of candy are on display and stores are covered in orange and black decor. Halloween isn’t just about the last week of October anymore. Halloween is to fall what Christmas is to winter.  So you need to start your preparations now.  While we here at Benjamin Franklin can’t help with your homemade costumes, we can help keep your home’s plumbing safe so that this Halloween will only be the good kind of scary.

Pumpkin Pulp

With the millions of carved pumpkins being made this season, Americans will scrape thousands of pounds of pumpkin pulp down their drains throughout the Halloween season and end up with clogged pipes that require maintenance. Benjamin Franklin plumbers have become as common as trick or treaters in neighborhoods this time of year thanks to gooey pumpkin pulp and pesky seeds.

Don’t let your garbage disposals become clogged or kitchen sinks get stopped up in the next month. Jack o’ lantern carvers remember: pumpkin pulp should never be put down drains or into garbage disposals.  The slimy gunk and fiber is ideal for clogging sink drains.

Instead, spread out a newspaper to clean out the pulp and seeds on. The newspaper and pulp are perfect for the compost heap and the seeds can be roasted for a healthy, sugar-free treat for the kids.

Noisy Pipes in the Night

Here’s a terrifying story: you head to bed after watching your favorite scary movie. Once you’re covered up and comfortable, you hear it – loud, thumping noises in the night. They echo throughout the house and sound like an intruder banging on your door or window.  After an investigation, however, you discover that it’s your pipes! Loud pipes can be caused by a few different culprits. Most commonly, you’ll find out that your water pressure is too high creating loud banging noises when water is turned on or off.

In more severe cases, loose pipes may also be to blame for the loud noises. These pipes can pose a real danger for flooding if they are not identified and repaired. That’s why you should quickly address these problems as soon as you discover them. This holds true whether you’re repairing them yourself – or calling in the professionals.

If your plumbing system isn’t working as efficiently as possible, you could be throwing serious money down the drain. When it comes to the health and condition of your pipes, you could also be wasting water and energy – it could be leaking out every second of every day! It’s important to make sure that your pipes are in good condition to maximize their efficiency. Taking the time to perform necessary plumbing repairs and having a plumbing system tune up by Benjamin Franklin can make all of the difference in the long run and can improve your home’s water conservation and energy efficiency.

Don’t Abuse Your Garbage Disposal

Planning to have some friends over for a Halloween party? Make sure you keep an eye on what your guests put down your garbage disposal to avoid any mishaps. Especially if you’ll be cooking food or baking Halloween treats; remember that fats and greases NEVER belong in the garbage disposal or down any drain, for that matter. As said before, pumpkin innards are harsh on your plumbing too, things with fiber and goop from going down your drain. Garbage disposals are designed for small scraps left on plates that wash off with water and not much more.

Don’t Treat Your Toilet Like a Trash Can

Remember, your commode is not meant to flush anything other than waste and toilet paper. That means candy wrappers, uneaten candy, pumpkin seeds, leftover Halloween makeup and anything else you can think of belonging in the garbage can in your kitchen – not down the toilet.

Should you run into any of these plumbing scares don’t hesitate to call us at Benjamin Franklin Tyler.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Tyler serves the East Texas cities of Kilgore, Longview, Tyler, and Whitehouse with a team of certified plumbers. In addition to emergency plumbing repair, some of the plumbing services provided by the company include faucet repair, drain services, toilet repair, plumbing fixture installations, tub and shower installations, kitchen sink repair, faucet installation, water heater repair/replacement, and garbage disposal replacement. Call us today at (903) 730-6611 to schedule an appointment!