The short answer
If you’re hosting Thanksgiving in Northern Virginia on November 26, spend an hour on the house the week before: run the heat, change the filter, test the carbon monoxide alarms, check every toilet and drain, and find the main water shutoff. A full house is the hardest day of the year on your plumbing, and that week is when everyone else is calling too. Here’s what we’d do first.
The week before: the list
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| Do this | Why | More |
|---|---|---|
| Run the heat a full hour | Better to learn it now than with a full table. | The test |
| Change the filter | Guests, doors opening and cooking all put more dust in the air, and a clean filter costs little. | Which filter |
| Test the carbon monoxide alarms | The oven runs all day and a full house keeps windows shut. | If one goes off |
| Check the guest room | Nobody’ll tell you it’s cold in there. Go stand in it. | Cold room fixes |
| Test every toilet | Food coloring in the tank. Color in the bowl with no flush means a flapper, and it’s an easy fix. | The fix |
| Run every sink and the tub | A slow drain today is a backed up drain with 12 people. | Fixture or main line |
| Put a plunger and a trash can in every bathroom | Guests won’t ask. They need somewhere to put a wipe, too. | What never gets flushed |
| Find the main water shutoff | Show one other adult. It’s the single most useful thing on this list. | Where it is |
The $67 Heating Check
We check your furnace, heat pump or boiler before winter. Through December 31. See the offer
The day of: the kitchen
Don’t pour turkey grease down the drain. It’s a liquid going in and a solid a few feet later, and it’s the classic holiday clog. Cool it in a can and throw it out. Don’t feed the disposal the whole meal. Peels, celery, bones and stuffing go in the trash. Our holiday clog list has the rest.
Run the range hood and don’t leave the oven alone. The National Fire Protection Association says Thanksgiving is the top day of the year for home cooking fires, and unattended cooking is the leading cause. A turkey fryer stays outside, well away from the house and never in the garage.
Don’t heat the house with the oven door open. The CDC says never use a gas oven or stove for heat, because that’s how carbon monoxide builds up.
The day of: hot water and heat
Space out the showers. Guests in the morning can drain a tank fast. Give it 10 to 15 minutes between them, and hold the dishwasher and the laundry until they’re done. In winter the water coming in is colder, too, so a tank runs out sooner. Don’t crank the water heater to fix it. Here is why.
Knock the thermostat down a degree or two. A kitchen running all day and a house full of people make plenty of heat. Where to set it. If someone’s cold, don’t bring in a space heater and forget about it. The rules are short. Keep coats, chairs and kids’ stuff off the returns. The rest is in our list for keeping a house warm.
If something goes wrong anyway
Toilet rising: stop flushing, close the valve behind it, and plunge. Two drains backing up together: quit running water, because it’s probably the main. No heat: go through this first. Water where it shouldn’t be: shut the main, then call us for emergency plumbing. Don’t let the day become about it. Get the food on the table.
Questions people ask
How do I get my house ready to host Thanksgiving?
A week out: run the heat, change the filter, test the carbon monoxide alarms, check every toilet and drain, and make sure everyone knows where the main water shutoff is.
What’s the worst thing to do to the drains on Thanksgiving?
Pour turkey grease down the sink. Let it cool in a can, and throw the can out. Peels and bones go in the trash too.
How do I make hot water last with a full house?
Space the showers out, about 10 to 15 minutes apart, and wait on the dishwasher and the laundry until they’re done.
Can I use the oven to help heat the house when guests are over?
No. The CDC says never use a gas oven or stove to heat a home, since that’s how carbon monoxide builds up. If the heat’s not keeping up, get it looked at before they arrive.
Book it
Want the house checked before they get there? Book a visit a week or two early, because that’s when the schedule fills. The heating check is $67 per system through December 31, on a furnace, heat pump or boiler. Book it from goswiftpro.com/cookiesoffer and free MOLTN cookies come with the visit. Or call (703) 997-9757. SwiftPro is rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook, Virginia Class A license 2705192276.
