Thanksgiving Plumbing Problems Can Turn Black Friday into “Brown Friday”

Service Experts saw a 15% increase in plumbing calls on the Friday after Thanksgiving in 2025 and shares 3 ways to avoid “Brown Friday”

Richardson, TX, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- While millions of Americans will spend the day after Thanksgiving searching for Black Friday deals, plumbers across the country will be dealing with a less festive post-holiday tradition: “Brown Friday.”

According to proprietary service data from Service Experts, plumbing calls increased 15% on the Friday after Thanksgiving in 2025 compared to the average of other Fridays during the five-week period surrounding the holiday. 

Service Experts' data also showed that common kitchen and bathroom plumbing issues made up a larger share of service calls during Thanksgiving week in 2025. Nearly one in five calls involved clogged or slow drains, while toilet and garbage disposal problems were also more common than during a typical week.

“Thanksgiving can be a stress test for your home’s plumbing system,” said Brian Stigner, senior regional director and national plumbing champion at Service Experts. “You have more food going through the kitchen, more people using bathrooms, and more demand on a system that may already have a clog or other issue developing. The good news is that many of the problems we see around the holidays can be avoided by paying attention to what goes down your drains and addressing warning signs before your guests arrive.”

To help homeowners keep a plumbing emergency off the Thanksgiving menu, Stigner recommends three precautions:

1. Think before you put it down the kitchen sink - Thanksgiving meal prep and cleanup can be particularly hard on kitchen drains and garbage disposals. A garbage disposal should never be treated like a trash can.

Service Experts recommends keeping grease, oil, fat, bones, eggshells, coffee grounds, pasta and rice, along with fibrous or difficult-to-grind foods such as celery, potatoes, carrots, onions and lettuce, out of the disposal. Instead, scrape plates and cookware into the trash before rinsing them in the sink.

When using the garbage disposal, run cold water and feed appropriate food waste into it gradually rather than trying to grind large amounts at once.

“Thanksgiving creates a lot more food waste than an average dinner, and it’s easy to assume the garbage disposal can handle all of it,” said Stigner. “But grease, starches, and fibrous foods can contribute to blockages. Your trash can is often the safest place for those leftovers.”

2. Make bathrooms a “toilet paper only” zone - More guests also mean more stress on toilets and sewer lines. The simplest rule for avoiding a holiday clog is to only flush human waste and toilet paper.

Paper towels, cleaning wipes (even those marketed as flushable) cotton balls, feminine hygiene products and other items should go in the trash. Homeowners expecting overnight guests should make sure each bathroom has an easily accessible wastebasket so visitors have an alternative to flushing these items.

3. Don’t ignore the warning signs before guests arrive- Thanksgiving may not create a plumbing problem from scratch, but it can expose one that was already developing.

In the days leading up to the holiday, homeowners should pay attention to slow or repeatedly clogged drains, gurgling sounds, persistent drain odors, changes in water pressure, and signs of leaks or corrosion around exposed plumbing.

One slow drain may point to a localized clog, but multiple slow or repeatedly clogged drains can indicate a larger problem within the plumbing system. Gurgling can also be a warning sign of a blockage or venting issue. Rather than repeatedly relying on liquid drain cleaners, which may provide only a temporary fix and can potentially damage plumbing, homeowners should consider having persistent problems evaluated by a professional.

“If your sink is already draining slowly or you hear your drains gurgling before Thanksgiving, don’t assume it can wait until after the holiday,” said Stigner. “A house full of guests and a full day of cooking can add more demand to an already stressed system. Addressing a small problem ahead of time is much easier than dealing with a backed-up sink or toilet when everyone is sitting down for dinner.”

Homeowners hosting overnight guests should also make sure their water heater is working properly before the holiday. Increased showers and hot-water use can put additional demand on the system, particularly if it has existing performance issues.

For more information about preparing your home’s plumbing for the holidays or to find a Service Experts plumbing professional near you, visit ServiceExperts.com.

ABOUT SERVICE EXPERTS 

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Richardson, Texas, Service Experts is one of the largest residential HVAC service providers in the United States. The company operates a nationwide network of locally operated service centers delivering heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical solutions. For nearly three decades, Service Experts has combined deep local expertise with the scale and resources of a national organization to provide proactive, reliable home system care proven by its average rating of 4.8 out of five stars on Google across hundreds of thousands of reviews. Learn more at ServiceExperts.com.

Abby Hagstrom
Service Experts
303-877-0738
abby@thescratchcollective.com