Thanksgiving is a glorious day that brings our family and friends a ton of food, and eventually, something we may all have to deal with called Brown Friday. This day can make you feel pretty ungrateful after you just spent the prior day thinking of all the things that make our lives terrific.

Thanksgiving also ends up being a time when everyone, even dieters and healthy folks, indulge in food that they adore but maybe they don't eat very often. "It's Thanksgiving", we say to ourselves, it's okay to have a second plate of food, three pieces of pecan pie and then take home leftovers that we plan to eat later in the afternoon and evening.

We don't hold back when it comes to having all the goodies on our Thanksgiving table. According to ABC News, the average person consumes 3,000 calories just while eating their Thanksgiving meal! When you add in all the drinks we drink, all the dips your MawMaw makes, and that pie, the calorie count zooms to 4,500!!

Toilet
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What the Heck Is Brown Friday, And Why Do I Need To Know About It?

Do you own a toilet? Do you have plumbing at your home? 99% are going to answer "yes" to that question. Do you have a garbage disposal?  When things are working with the plumbing, life is good. When things start acting up during a holiday weekend, it can spell disaster.

Brown Friday is the busiest day of the year for plumbers. They are called out to people's homes to deal with plumbing issues. Yeah, all kinds of plumbing issues, including extra usage and people putting things in the toilet that they shouldn't. But let's start with the kitchen before we get to the bathroom!

The garbage disposal isn't for all foods, according to Amercian Home Shield. Wait, what? 

A plumber once told me, "Just throw everything in the trash, and your garbage disposal will last forever. Only let really little things fall in there."

What Should I Not Put In My Garbage Disposal?

Starchy foods expand and clog the device

Grease, Oil, and Fatty foods will clog up the plumbing

Drain Cleaner and Bleach will destroy the disposal

Fibrous Food

Shells and Nuts can dull the blades of the disposal

Toilet Paper Roll That's Empty
Photo courtesy of Jas Min egqR_zUd4NI, Unsplash (1)
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Now, We Need To Discuss The Toilet; It's Going To Be Used Plenty, and People Don't Think Before They Put Stuff In It.

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Awww, the toilet. It will get used more than usual on Thanksgiving and the day after. Think about it; maybe it will get used more the whole weekend. That's bad enough, but then there are all the things you better make sure you don't put in the toilet!

Baby Wipes/Flushable Wipes

You may need to use these for sanitary reasons while in the bathroom, especially after overeating, but they should never be flushed, according to Mr. Rooter. Straight up, they say don't do it.

Medications

Experts used to tell us to flush old or unused medications, but now they advise everyone not to do it.

Paper Towels

They are called paper towels, but they can't be flushed because they are "hardier" than toilet paper, and that goes for napkins, too!

Cigarette Butts

You may sneak a smoke in the bathroom during the Thanksgiving celebration at your MawMaw's house. Hey, you do you, but don't put the cigarette butt down the toilet. According to We Are Woosh, they can severely harm fresh water and marine life.

Those are just a few things you should never flush down the toilet. It's not a bad idea to have an emergency plumbing fund because, according to Angie's List, calling a plumber on Brown Friday can cost anywhere from $100 to $500.

It's also not a bad idea to think about your manners after using a bathroom at someone's house:

Make sure you leave the toilet the way you found it!

Make sure you wash your hands after you use the facilities!

Try to use the bathroom fan if they have one!

If you clog up the toilet, look for a plunger and try to solve the problem yourself!

Consider waiting until you get home (if you can) to handle number 2 business!

Louisiana: Keep These 10 Foods Out Of Your Garbage Disposal

Avoid placing these things down your garbage disposal. Doing so could save you a lot of time, headache, money, and an emergency after-hours call to your local plumber.

Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins

 

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