Essential Tips To Avoid 4th of July Plumbing Party Fouls

It’s the 4th of July, Independence Day, one of the most important, historical and patriotic holidays of the year when we celebrate not just America’s independence from British rule, but we also celebrate freedom in general, fighting for what’s right, an overarching sense of national pride and kinship, and our love of socializing with our friends, families, and communities.

From parades to barbecues and of course fireworks, the 4th of July is a day jam-packed with red, white and blue festivities. If you happen to be hosting a 4th of July event, there are lots of preparations to be made, and they go beyond buying enough hamburgers, hotdogs, watermelon, and sparklers.

As part of readying your home for your guests, a fundamental task is making sure your plumbing is in good condition. The following tips will help you to prepare your home’s plumbing for your guests, so you can stay focused on enjoying yourself, relaxing in a hammock by the pool, instead of battling a clogged sink or toilet - what a nightmare.

Keep Your Kitchen Sink Safe From Clogs

Picture this. It’s the evening of July 3rd. You’re hosting a party tomorrow, and you’re just finishing up the food prep for the dishes you can make ahead of time. Everyone loves your famous potato salad, and it’s easy enough to make, even in large quantities.

That is until you put one potato peel too many down the garbage disposal and you hear the dreaded sound of the motor jamming or grinding to a halt. Your sink soon begins to fill up with water and potato skins and you realize - you’re in trouble. Many people’s first impulse is to attempt to unclog the garbage disposal with their hands without manually turning off the power underneath the sink.

This can be an incredibly dangerous error in judgment that can land you in the emergency room. While it might seem obvious not to attempt to scoop out a clogged disposal with your bare hands, a clogged sink combined with time pressure can cause us to panic and not think logically. Stress clouds our judgment, and we wind up with a clogged sink, no potato salad and a couple of stitches.

How do you prevent a clogged sink disaster? First, have a plumbing expert make sure your disposal and sink are operating properly. Second, avoid dumping too many scraps down the disposal. Instead, peel vegetables directly over your kitchen trashcan or even use a garbage bowl, or large bowl you can use to collect food scraps. This is ideal for composting.

In other situations, other people may be using your kitchen to help prepare certain foods. You will not be able to monitor what is poured down your sink at all times, and some foods, which contain a lot of greases, can cause damage to your plumbing. A simple solution? Use grease traps to prevent hot grease from causing any potential damage to your sink. Grease traps can also make your kitchen easier to clean up, leaving less of a mess.

Help Guests Solve Toilet Clogs

Okay, this may not be the most glamorous part of party planning, but it’s important to acknowledge. Every bathroom needs to have a plunger next to the toilet.

This can prevent flooding, not to mention potentially embarrassing one of your guests. Some older toilets clog quite easily, especially if multi-ply toilet tissue is used or if the toilet is connected to a septic system.

So, in the event a toilet is clogged, your most powerful ally, a tried and true, trusty plunger is nearby, you will have a minor inconvenience on your hands that can be resolved within minutes, rather than a major to-do.

Find the Shutoff Valve Before the Emergency

This may seem like an obvious one, but you would be surprised how many people are unsure of where the master water shutoff valve is. This doesn’t just refer to the shutoff valves that control the toilet and the sink, but the shutoff valve that controls the water supply to the entire house.

In houses with basements, that is where the shutoff valve is typically located. However, shutoff valves can often be found on the exterior of a house if there isn’t a basement. Sometimes, the valves are in a place that isn’t obvious; they can be camouflaged by landscaping for aesthetic purposes.

It’s critical to know the location of the shutoff valve in case of flooding, or an uncontrollable leak. If a washer on a faucet goes, a pipe bursts or otherwise, you need to shut off the water as soon as possible while you wait for emergency technicians or the fire department to arrive, depending on the severity of the situation.

By following the above-mentioned essential tips, your 4th of July party this year should be a success, free of potential plumbing disasters. We hope you have a wonderful, plumbing-issue free 4th of July!