Roto-Rooter Warns of 50% Spike in Plumbing Emergencies During 'Brown Friday' Holiday Weekend

Roto-Rooter is preparing for its busiest time of the year as incoming service calls are expected to surge 50 percent above average during the Black Friday period. The industry-wide day-after Thanksgiving rush, known as "Brown Friday" among plumbers, overwhelms American drains nationwide due to holiday cooking and increased household activity. Paul Abrams, spokesman for Roto-Rooter, explained that turkey grease, starchy side dishes, and holiday guests create perfect storm conditions for backups and clogs. Many homeowners don't realize their drains are already partially compromised, with the holiday rush serving as the trigger for full-scale plumbing emergencies.

During the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, Roto-Rooter averages a 21 percent surge in service requests. The most common culprits include turkey drippings and cooking grease that solidify inside pipes like candle wax, rice and pasta that break down into clogging gel, overtaxed systems from multiple showers and toilet flushes with holiday guests, and tree root intrusion in main sewer lines that erupts when drain volume increases. A holiday sewage backup isn't just inconvenient—it can spoil precious family holidays and ruin celebrations entirely.

Roto-Rooter's 7,000 service technicians nationwide are working and on-call through the entire holiday weekend, including Thanksgiving Day itself, to handle emergency calls. The company's strategy emphasizes proactive prevention rather than reactive emergency response. Abrams recommends scheduling preventative sewer or drain cleaning now instead of waiting for emergencies later. Customers can book services through November at rotorooter.com or by calling 1-800-GET-ROTO, with many branches offering pre-Thanksgiving maintenance packages to help homeowners avoid potential disasters.

For those facing emergency situations during the holiday, Roto-Rooter guarantees rapid response and no surprise service fees. As part of its community commitment, the company is celebrating its seventh annual Giving Thanks Food Drive throughout November. Customers can save $55 with the donation of a non-perishable item through participating Roto-Rooter branch offices or at rotorooter.com/fooddrive. Homeowners can also learn clog-prevention tips at rotorooter.com/blog to better prepare their plumbing systems for the holiday strain.