Roto-Rooter Warns: Brown Friday Plumbing Calls to Spike 50%

CINCINNATI, OH - With Thanksgiving approaching, Roto-Rooter is preparing for what plumbing professionals call "Brown Friday" - the industry-wide surge in service calls that occurs the day after Thanksgiving. The company anticipates a staggering 50 percent increase in emergency calls above average levels as American drains become overwhelmed by holiday cooking and guest activity. Paul Abrams, spokesman for Roto-Rooter, emphasizes that waiting until disaster strikes is a critical mistake, noting that "turkey grease, starchy side dishes, and holiday guests all converge to create perfect storm conditions for backups and clogs." The reality is that many homeowners' drains are already partially compromised before the holiday rush even begins.

During the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, Roto-Rooter typically experiences a 21 percent surge in service requests, with common culprits including turkey drippings and cooking grease that solidify inside pipes, rice and pasta that break down into clogging gels, overtaxed systems from multiple showers and toilet flushes with holiday guests, and tree root intrusion in main sewer lines that erupt when drain volume increases. The company's 7,000 service technicians nationwide are working and on-call through the entire holiday weekend, including Thanksgiving Day itself, to handle emergency situations. However, the company's strategy emphasizes proactive prevention over reactive emergency response, urging homeowners to schedule preventative sewer or drain cleaning through their website rotorooter.com or by calling 1-800-GET-ROTO.

As part of its community commitment, Roto-Rooter is running its seventh annual Giving Thanks Food Drive throughout November, offering customers $55 savings with the donation of a non-perishable item through participating branch offices or at rotorooter.com/fooddrive. The company guarantees rapid response for emergency situations during the holiday with no surprise service fees. Homeowners are encouraged to take advantage of pre-Thanksgiving maintenance packages, schedule preventative drain cleaning, and access emergency plumbing services available throughout the holiday weekend. With 24-hour availability across most major U.S. markets, Roto-Rooter aims to keep homes running smoothly before, during, and after the holidays, preventing what could otherwise become a disastrous Thanksgiving celebration ruined by sewage backups and plumbing emergencies.