COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Ohioans gobble away their Thanksgiving leftovers it could lead to a messy situation in their sink. 

What You Need To Know

  • Jason Sayre, the owner of Drainbusters, said the holidays are always a busy time and gives tips on avoiding drain clogs

  • Sayre said turkey bones and large leftovers should be tossed in the garbage can, not the kitchen food disposal 

  • Sayre suggests when a drain becomes clogged do not use drain cleaner as it can damage your pipes but to instead call a service to clean it properly 

The day after Thanksgiving has plumbers on the run, knowing they will be needed to help families in need during the holiday weekend. Jason Sayre is the owner of Drainbusters, a family-owned plumbing service. He calls this weekend the busiest time of the year. 

“We get a lot of phone calls from people putting turkey down the drain,” Sayre said. “Just about anything you can think of. We’ve seen people just clear out the whole refrigerator, and put it down the sink, and we’ll come to the job and the kitchen sink will be almost full to the top.” 

Sayre said a kitchen sink is not an appropriate place to dispose of kitchen leftovers. He said you can put small food scraps down the sink garbage disposal, but to run water after for nearly 30 to 40 seconds to ensure all food scraps were taken care of properly. He said this helps water flow and not become a clogged pipe.

Meanwhile, turkey bones could cause a lot of damage in the garbage disposal. Sayre said plumbers usually clean the pipes properly and remove the debris. Then, the professionals usually place the pipe back together and fill the sink with water a few times. 

However, Sayre said if Ohioans decide to take care of a clog themselves, then they should not use drain cleaner and should be extra cautious. 

“You will have some people that will start plunging the sink,” Sayre said. “We’ve seen where it’ll blow the pipes out underneath. Then, the water will go everywhere over the floor, and seep into the basement. I even saw a video recently where someone was plunging the sink and the whole sink fell into the cabinet. So, it can be pretty dangerous.” 

The best way to avoid a major sink clog with Thanksgiving leftovers is to discard food items in the trash can and minimally use the sink garbage disposal. Sayre also suggests running warm water in your sink to ensure the pipe is not clogged. 

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