Brown Friday: Be careful when disposing of your Thanksgiving scraps

Plumbers warn about Brown Friday

Plumbers are warning people to watch what they put down the garbage disposal after cooking and eating their Thanksgiving feasts.

AUSTIN, Texas - You've probably heard of Black Friday, but what about Brown Friday? That's what plumbers call the day after Thanksgiving.

It's the busiest day of the year for them, mostly because of how people dispose of Thanksgiving scraps.

"Nobody wants to call a plumber if they have to," said Mickey Womack, a master plumber for Plumbinator.

But sure enough, plenty of people call for help the day after Thanksgiving.

"A lot of times toilets get clogged from overuse and sinks get clogged because people dump stuff down the sinks, garbage disposals get stopped up," said Womack.

It happens more than you might think, particularly on Brown Friday.

"I think that this time of year certainly is the busiest time of year for people in the drain cleaning industry, people who do a lot of that," said Jack Crow, owner of Crow’s plumbing. "Thanksgiving is like the pinnacle, that's the thing for it. Because people do, they clog up their sinks with all kinds of things. This is the time of year for it."

Womack warns of vegetable shavings, meat, bones and turkey skins.

"There's been a lot of times that people will call us and say the garbage disposal is broken, and we pull off that tube and empty it out and all this stuff comes out and put it back together, and everything works," said Womack.

But the number one problem both plumbers said they see is potato peelings. "Just don't shove potato skins," said Womack.

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"A lot of times folks will put something down like potato peelings or something," said Crow. "I see that a lot."

If you're not sure if it's safe to put an item down the garbage disposal, throw it away or consider this:

"I wouldn't feed your garbage disposal anything you wouldn't feed a baby," said Womack.

Follow that simple guideline, and you'll save your greens for Black Friday shopping, not for Brown Friday.

"Don't be trying to use it as a grinder," said Womack. "Putting potato skins and stuff like that. and if you do, plumbers are going to make money because it will clog it up."

If it's too late and you notice a problem with your garbage disposal, don't start the dishwasher.

The two are connected, and if you can't figure out how to solve the issue, then it's time to call your local plumber.