The holidays are a plumbers' busiest times of the year as holiday cooking and celebrations can put home and office plumbing systems at risk. Fat, oil, grease and food waste are often poured down drains, which cling to pipe walls, eventually solidifying and causing a blockage.
 
"But, there are some very simple steps we can take at home or at work that can keep drains running smoothly during the holiday season," says Klaus Reichardt, CEO and founder of Waterless Co., Inc.
 
Tips on how to avoid calling the plumber this holiday season are:
• Can the grease. Instead of pouring cooking grease down drains, pour it into empty, heat-safe containers and then toss it in the garbage can.
• Scrape the plate. Before washing dishes, utensils, pots, or pans, scrape them clean with paper towels; this helps remove both food scraps as well as grease that can clog drains.
• Catch the scraps. Be sure home and office kitchen drains have a basket or strainer over the drain to catch food scraps that can cause a blockage. 
• Avoid using the garbage disposal. While it may grind up food items so they can flow down the drain, garbage disposals do not remove oil and grease, which can clog the drain.

Because some offices will be closed during the holiday season, Reichardt says this is also a good time to make sure sinks and floor drains do not dry out due to the dry, cold winter weather. When this happens, sewer odors are released into the home or facility.

"This is easily accomplished by applying a small amount of liquid trap primer to drains. A quality liquid trap primer can last a long time, essentially eliminating this problem for years," he says.