Canadian Thanksgiving falls on Monday, October 12 this year, and for most households that means one thing: a kitchen working harder than it has all year. Roasting pans, gravy boats, potato pots and a sink full of dishes all head for the same small drain. These Thanksgiving plumbing tips will help you keep that drain flowing, so the only thing your family remembers is the meal, not the backup.
At 24/7 Emergency Plumber, the Thanksgiving long weekend is one of the busiest times of year for kitchen sink calls across Canada. Almost every one of those calls starts the same way: someone poured the turkey drippings down the sink.
Why Thanksgiving Is the Hardest Week of the Year on Kitchen Drains
A normal weeknight dinner sends a little grease and a few food scraps down the drain. A Thanksgiving dinner for ten or twelve people sends several times that amount in a single afternoon. Add the leftovers on Tuesday and the turkey soup on Wednesday, and your kitchen plumbing gets no break at all.
The problem is not one big mistake. It is many small ones stacked together: a splash of drippings, a rinse of the gravy pan, a scrape of mashed potatoes, a handful of peels in the garbage disposal. Each one seems harmless. Together, they build a blockage.
What Turkey Fat Actually Does Inside Your Pipes
Turkey fat is liquid when it comes out of the oven. That is what makes it so tempting to pour down the sink. But as soon as it meets the cooler pipe walls under your counter and in your basement, it starts to harden.
Once it sets, it acts like glue. Food particles, coffee grounds and soap residue stick to it, and the layer grows thicker every time you use the sink. Over days or weeks the opening inside the pipe shrinks until water can barely get through. In older Canadian homes with cast iron drain lines, the rough interior surface catches grease even faster.
The damage does not stop at your property line either. Grease that makes it past your pipes ends up in the municipal sewer, where it combines with wipes and other debris into large blockages that cities spend millions of dollars every year to remove.
Thanksgiving Plumbing Tips for a Clog-Free Kitchen
1. Never Pour Turkey Drippings Down the Sink
This is the most important rule of the day. Pour the drippings into a heat-safe container, such as an empty tin can, a glass jar or a foil-lined bowl. Let it cool on the counter or in the fridge until it turns solid, then scrape it into your green bin or garbage. If you plan to make gravy, skim the fat off first and treat the leftover fat the same way.
2. Wipe Before You Wash
Before any roasting pan, pot or plate goes into the sink, wipe out the grease with a paper towel. The greasy paper towel goes into the green bin in most Canadian cities. This one habit removes most of the fat that would otherwise coat your drain.
3. Scrape Plates Into the Green Bin, Not the Sink
Stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy all leave sticky residue in pipes. Scrape plates directly into the green bin before rinsing. Ask a guest or two to help with scraping duty after dinner. It keeps the sink clear and speeds up cleanup.
4. Go Easy on the Garbage Disposal
A garbage disposal grinds food into smaller pieces, but it does not make grease or starchy food disappear. Potato peels turn into a thick paste, and turkey bones can jam the blades or damage the unit. If you do use the disposal, run cold water before, during and for about 30 seconds after, and feed small amounts at a time. Cold water keeps any fat solid so it can be chopped and carried away rather than smeared along the pipe.
5. Use a Sink Strainer
A simple mesh strainer in your kitchen drain costs a few dollars and catches the small scraps that slip past even careful scraping. Empty it into the green bin whenever it fills up. It is one of the cheapest ways to protect your plumbing all year, not just at Thanksgiving.
6. Run the Dishwasher With Full Loads
Your dishwasher drains into the same line as your kitchen sink. Running it back to back with half loads, while the sink is also in use, puts extra pressure on a drain that may already be partly blocked. Wait for full loads and space them out across the evening.
7. Space Out Showers When Guests Stay Over
If family is staying for the long weekend, morning showers can strain your water heater and your drains at the same time. Leave 10 to 15 minutes between showers so the water heater can recover and the drains can clear fully.
How to Dispose of Turkey Fat the Right Way in Canada
Rules vary slightly by city, but the message across Canada is the same: fats, oils and grease belong in the green bin or at a drop-off depot, never in the drain. Here is what some of the largest municipalities recommend.
Toronto and the GTA
The City of Toronto asks residents to let grease cool and harden before putting it in the Green Bin, and to wipe small amounts from pans with a paper towel before washing. Larger amounts of cooking oil can be taken to a City Drop-Off Depot or a Community Environment Day. You can read the full guidance on the City of Toronto’s What Not to Flush or Pour Down the Drain page.
York Region
York Region also directs fats, oils and grease to the green bin. Liquid cooking oils that will not solidify, such as canola or vegetable oil, can be dropped off in a sealed container at one of the region’s waste depots. The region also points out that a food waste grinder does not break down grease at all. See the York Region Fats, Oils and Grease page for depot details.
Metro Vancouver
In the Lower Mainland, Metro Vancouver’s “Wipe It, Green Bin It” campaign asks residents to scrape grease from plates and pans into the green bin and to take large amounts, such as deep fryer oil, to a recycling depot that accepts it. The region and its member municipalities spend millions of dollars each year repairing sewer damage caused by grease. Find out more on Metro Vancouver’s fats, oils and grease page.
Everywhere Else in Canada
Whether you live in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal or a smaller town, check your municipality’s waste sorting guide before the holiday. Most Canadian cities with an organics program accept cooled, solid grease and greasy paper towels. If your area has no green bin, seal cooled fat in a container and put it in the garbage.
What About Oil From a Turkey Fryer?
Deep-fried turkey has become more popular in Canada, but a fryer can hold well over ten litres of oil. That is far too much for any drain, toilet or backyard. Let the oil cool completely, which can take several hours, then pour it back into its original containers or a sealed jug. Take it to your local depot or a recycling program that accepts cooking oil. Never pour fryer oil onto the lawn, into a storm drain or into the street catch basin.
Other Thanksgiving Foods That Clog Drains
Grease gets most of the attention, but it is not the only troublemaker on the holiday menu.
Potato peels are starchy and turn into a thick paste in the disposal and in the pipe.
Rice, pasta and stuffing keep absorbing water after they go down the drain and swell into a soft plug.
Turkey bones can jam a garbage disposal and should always go in the green bin.
Coffee grounds from the after-dinner pot clump together and bind with grease.
Eggshells from baking break into sharp grains that settle in the trap.
Celery, squash and onion skins are fibrous and wrap around disposal blades.
Myth: Hot Water and Dish Soap Will Wash Grease Away
Many people believe that a kettle of boiling water or a good squirt of dish soap will carry grease safely through the pipes. It will not. Hot water only moves the grease a little further down the line before it cools and hardens again, often in a spot that is harder to reach. Dish soap breaks grease up for a short time, but it separates and settles once the water cools. Chemical drain cleaners can also damage older pipes and should not be relied on as a fix.
Warning Signs Your Kitchen Drain Is in Trouble
Catching a problem early can save you from a full backup on the holiday itself. Watch for these signs in the days before and after Thanksgiving:
Water draining slowly from the kitchen sink, even when only lightly used.
Gurgling sounds from the sink or dishwasher as water drains.
A sour or rotten smell coming from the drain.
Water backing up into one side of a double sink when you run the other side or the dishwasher.
Water appearing around a basement floor drain while the kitchen is in use.
If you notice any of these, take a look at our drain cleaning and drainage services. A slow drain before dinner is much easier and cheaper to clear than a flooded sink on Monday afternoon.
What to Do If Your Sink Backs Up on Thanksgiving Day
If the worst happens and your sink fills with greasy water, stay calm and follow these steps.
Stop using the sink and dishwasher. Every extra litre of water adds to the backup.
Do not pour in chemical drain cleaners. They rarely clear a grease blockage and leave caustic water in the sink that is dangerous for anyone who tries to plunge or open the trap afterwards.
Try a plunger. Use a flat cup plunger made for sinks. If you have a double sink, block the second drain with a wet cloth so the pressure goes toward the clog.
Check the trap. If you are comfortable doing so, place a bucket under the curved pipe beneath the sink, unscrew it and clear any buildup by hand.
Call a professional if it does not clear. If water is still standing, or if other drains in the house are also slow, the blockage is likely further down the line. A licensed plumber can clear it with a drain snake or hydro jetting and confirm the line is fully open.
Do Not Forget the Rest of the House
A full house puts extra demand on every fixture, not just the kitchen. Keep a plunger in each bathroom so guests are not left searching for one, and put a small bin beside each toilet so wipes and other items do not get flushed. Fall is also the time of year when basement floor drains dry out and start to smell, which can be more noticeable with a house full of visitors. Our guide on what to do about a basement floor drain smell covers the simple fixes.
Need a Plumber Over the Thanksgiving Long Weekend?
Plumbing problems do not take holidays, and neither do we. If your kitchen drain backs up, a toilet overflows or a pipe starts leaking during the Thanksgiving long weekend, our licensed plumbers are available 24 hours a day, including Thanksgiving Day itself. Learn more about our emergency plumbing services, or call 289-627-1460 to have a technician on the way.
Follow these Thanksgiving plumbing tips, keep the turkey fat out of the sink, and your kitchen will be ready for the leftovers, the soup and every holiday meal that follows.