Lexington homeowners love entertaining holiday guests, but the season can take a real toll on the core systems. Increased electricity demand, plenty of plumbing use, and unpredictable weather make hosting a bit complicated for even experienced hosts and hostesses. Pro Plumbing has a few tips to prepare your HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems to handle the heavy holiday load.
How To Prepare Your Home for the Holidays
Unfortunately, the holidays often put additional strain on plumbing and electrical infrastructure. Having more people around the house means more water use, more toilets flushing, and more gadgets plugged into outlets. Thankfully, there are ways to prevent circuits from overloading and drains from clogging with a little preparation.
1. Avoid Overloaded Circuits
Especially if your guests are staying for a few nights, expect everyone to bring an electrical gadget or two to plug in. Preparing holiday meals may also require additional small cooking appliances, many of which get plugged into kitchen circuits that may already handle large appliances. Connecting too many devices can cause blown fuses and increased fire risk.
How To Avoid Overloaded Circuits
- Which devices and appliances are on the same circuit? The easiest way to find out is to head to your circuit panel and turn off circuits one by one; whatever powers down is on the circuit. Try to balance out how many appliances are on any given circuit, especially in the kitchen.
- Avoid using portable devices like space heaters and hair dryers at the same time and on the same circuit.
- Identify outlets on circuits with lower electricity demand and encourage guests to use these. Place a small table for devices or sign with a subtle message (“Power Station”).
If your home is still facing issues with overloaded circuits, consider rewiring strained circuits to improve performance and reduce your risk of fire or other problems.
2. Clean Out Drains
Like electricity use, water consumption increases quickly with every guest and every big meal. Stay ahead of clogged drains with basic proactive cleaning a few days before company arrives; here’s where to start.
Cleaning Kitchen Drains
To clean food debris and grease out of kitchen drains before a build-up starts, pour 1 cup of baking soda into the sink drain. If possible, cover the drain with a cap to force the pressure down the pipe. Let the baking soda sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then pour a pitcher of hot water down the drain to help dislodge and clear any remaining debris.
Cleaning Shower Drains
Shower drain clogs are often caused by soap scum and hair. While baking soda can help with soap scum, it doesn’t work on hair. To remove hair, use a drain snake, a wire hanger, or a plunger. If problems persist, tree roots in the sewer line could be the issue. Pro Plumbing can identify and resolve the issue quickly, preventing leaks and backups.
3. Prevent Clogged Toilets
It’s a holiday guest’s worst nightmare: they use the bathroom, flush, wash their hands, and spot a nearly overflowing toilet as they go to leave. Preventing toilet clogs is a smart way to protect guests (and yourself!) from the embarrassment of clogging up the throne. Follow these tips to prevent clogs, plumbing damage, or sewer line and septic tank problems.
How To Prevent Toilet Clogs
The best way to prevent clogged toilets is to remove any non-flushable items from the bathroom. While toilet paper is the most common cause of clogs, these bathroom staples should never go down the drain:
- Cotton balls
- Q-tips
- Non-flushable wipes
- Tissues
- Wrappers
- Floss
There’s a reason one holiday in particular is the busiest plumbing day of the year. Occurring the day after Thanksgiving, “Brown Friday” sees a spike in plumbing problems, mostly associated with lots of house guests, heavy food intake, and families spending more time at staying home.
4. Freshen Up Your Home’s Scent
One of the best ways to ensure your guests feel welcome is to deodorize your home. While you may not notice it, every house has its own distinct smell, which may or may not agree with some guests.
How To Deodorize Your Home Quickly
- Air it out: Open windows and doors to let in fresh air. You can also run your HVAC system’s fan to increase air flow in the house, improving ventilation.
- Remove the stink: Address common causes of odor by taking out the trash, cleaning out drains, throwing out old food from the fridge, and cleaning soft materials like upholstery, rugs, and carpeting.
Carpets and area rugs can trap odors from food spills, pet accidents, and more. To eliminate these smells, sprinkle baking soda on the affected area and let it sit for about 30 minutes (or longer for strong odors). Vacuum up the baking soda, and the scent should be significantly reduced or gone. Repeat as needed.
Read More: How To Sleep Better During Allergy Season
Preparing Your Home for Holiday Guests Is Simple
Focus on the basics when getting ready for the holidays: make guests feel welcome, be accommodating, and be ready for anything with Pro Plumbing. Find out why Lexington residents trust our local home service technicians for prompt, professional service when it matters most. From our entire team, have a wonderful holiday season, and schedule an appointment to get ahead of common home issues this year!
Call 336-892-8105 or contact us online to schedule HVAC, electrical, indoor air quality, or plumbing services in Trinity, Salisbury, and the surrounding areas.