‘Brown Friday’ keeps WA plumbers busy each year. How to avoid holiday problems
Grease. Eggshells. Potato peels.
They’re byproducts of the Thanksgiving meal preparation process for many home cooks. They can also be the reason those home cooks need to make emergency calls to a plumber.
“Excessive food waste in a disposal clogs the drain every time,” Scott Romanovich, owner of Scottco Plumbing in Tacoma, told The News Tribune.
Thanksgiving week is a busy time for plumbers in Washington state and across the nation, with the day after Thanksgiving earning the nickname “Brown Friday” because of its link to plumbing problems.
In fact, Brown Friday “consistently brings a 50% spike in service calls — making it the busiest day of the year for the industry,” Roto-Rooter said in a Nov. 20 news release.
Plumbers also see a 21% boost in calls from Thursday through Sunday over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the company said.
Charlie Mitchel, owner of Tacoma’s Mitchel Plumbing Co., said he commonly gets emergency calls for clogged or leaking drains this time of year.
“People are frantic because the kitchen is a mess,” Mitchel told The News Tribune.
Why is the day after Thanksgiving called ‘Brown Friday’?
In the release, Roto-Rooter spokesman Paul Abrams described Thanksgiving as “a perfect storm for plumbing emergencies.”
The term “Brown Friday” is “a tongue-in-cheek term for the surge in calls for clogged toilets, backed-up drains, and other plumbing emergencies right after Thanksgiving,” Roto-Rooter said.
It’s also a nod to Black Friday, the popular holiday shopping day.
Jimmy Kimmel spoke about Brown Friday on his late-night television show Tuesday, Nov. 25.
“I, for one, choose to embrace Brown Friday,” Kimmel said. “Is it repulsive? Yes, it is. But it reminds me of what we have in common. One nation, under God, living in a country with such a plentiful bounty we can eat to the point where our toilets are so full professionals need to be called in.”
Why are plumbing problems worse after Thanksgiving?
The Thanksgiving holiday puts an extra strain on plumbing for a variety of reasons.
“With homes full of guests, extra showers and marathon kitchen sessions, pipes and disposals are pushed to their limits,” Abrams said. “Add in greasy turkey drippings and food scraps, and it’s no wonder drains clog and toilets back up.”
Kitchen sink clogs, jammed garbage disposals, main sewer clogs and toilet clogs are the most common problems on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Roto-Rooter said.
What goes in your garbage disposal?
You can put vegetable scraps, fruit pits and corn cobs down your garbage disposal, as well as most leftovers, according to Consumer Reports.
Cooked meat, small bones and ice are also okay to drop down the drain.
What doesn’t go in your garbage disposal?
According to Consumer Reports, you should avoid putting fats, oils and grease down your garbage disposal to avoid clogging your drains.
The same goes for creamy foods such as peanut butter, ice cream and butter.
Starchy foods, which can break down into a drain-clogging mush, also are a bad idea.
Consumer Reports recommends tossing vegetable peels and fibrous veggies including celery, corn husks, artichokes, edamame pods, asparagus and rhubarb in the trash instead of down the drain.
Eggshells, shellfish and coffee grounds also can cause problems if dropped in the garbage disposal.
How to avoid plumbing emergencies
Here are some general tips from Roto-Rooter to avoid plumbing problems:
- Don’t pour fats or cooking oil down the drain, where they can solidify in pipes. Use paper towels to wipe grease from pots and pans, then throw them in the trash.
- If your home is full of holiday guests, try waiting 10 minutes between showers to let slow drains do their thing.
- Cotton balls, swabs, hair and wet wipes don’t go in the toilet, where they’ll dissolve and cause clogs. Throw them in the waste basket.
If you already have plumbing issues, try to get them fixed before guests arrive for the holidays, according to Roto-Rooter.
“Often, the case is that a house already has partially clogged drains that go unnoticed until holiday guests arrive and overwhelm the system,” Abrams said.
What to try before calling a plumber
Before you call a plumber for help, you should figure out if it’s really an emergency, according to Armstrong Plumbing of Sacramento, California.
Call a plumber immediately for a burst pipe, sewage backup, water heater leak, overflowing toilet that won’t stop and flooding causing floor damage, the company suggested.
You’ll need to contact your local plumbing company soon if you have no running water at all.
Minor leaks, slow drains or dripping faucets can wait for a regular service appointment.
If you have a major leak, shut off the water to avoid more damage.
You can shut off individual valves for toilets and appliances, or the main valve to the house for a burst pipe. That’s usually near your water meter.
Look for standing water and be wary of electrical hazards, according to Ace Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning of Sacramento.
“Water and electricity don’t mix,” the company said. “If you’ve got a leak close to an outlet or circuit breaker, there’s a risk of fire — and worse. As well as water conducts electricity, there’s something else that conducts it even better: you.”
If it’s safe to do so, mop up any standing water using towels, buckets or a wet-dry vacuum to prevent further damage, Top Rank Plumbing of Sacramento said.
Above all, remain calm and assess the situation, the company said.
How much will an emergency plumber cost you?
Emergency plumbers typically charge 1.5 to 3 times the normal rate, Angie’s List said, although this can vary depending on the location and plumber’s experience.
You also may be asked to pay a holiday, weekend or night premium.
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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