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'Brown Friday' | Day after Thanksgiving is busy for plumbers

Busy kitchens and busy bathrooms can cause a number of problems. Plumbers said it's one of their busiest days for calls.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Most people know the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday — a day of shopping and sales.

Plumbers, however, call it something different. Many of them are so busy, they've nicknamed it "Brown Friday."

"That's a good name for it," plumber Danny Ferris said. "One of the big problems we see after Thanksgiving is the kitchen sink garbage disposal. A lot of times we'll see clogged toilets, water heaters."

Ferris works for Hiller Plumbing, Cooling, Heating and Electrical. He said he always sees an increase in calls after Thanksgiving. 

In the bathroom, wipes and toys tend to cause the most problems. 

"I've seen kids putting things in the toilets, toys, stuff like that," Ferris said. "Some drains are not done right so the wipes are just staying in your drains. They don't disintegrate like the toilet paper does."

Credit: WBIR

    

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Many of the problems, however, come from the kitchen.

"We definitely don't want to put pasta, rice, noodles, apple peelings or anything like that in a garbage disposal," Ferris said. "That's definitely a bad thing. And, we definitely don't want to put big stuff in the garbage disposal — no bones or anything like that."

He said fruit and vegetable peelings, pasta, rice and grease are some of the biggest troublemakers.

Pouring hot water down the train will only make things worse, Ferris said. 

"The grease is a liquid when you pour it in, but when it gets into your drain, it turns into a solid and then it clogs your drain," he said. "Then, we're out there running our cables through it and clearing it out."

Ferris said the garbage disposal shouldn't be used like a trash can because it's not designed to handle most things.

"It just chops it up and mixes it into a paste," Ferris said. "Then, it goes out your drain and it clogs your drain."

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