The holiday plumbing guide for West Chester hosts

West Chester does the holidays well. Chester County Hospital Lights Up Holiday Weekends fills downtown with lights from Thanksgiving onward. The Christmas Parade, running since 1979, brings crowds of around 26,000 to Market and Gay Streets. The Christkindlmarkt returns to Gay and Church Streets on Saturday, December 12, 2026. For many local families, that means a house full of guests, and a house full of guests means drains, toilets, and water heaters working harder than at any other time of year.

Most holiday plumbing problems are avoidable. Here is how.

The kitchen: grease is the number one enemy

Turkey drippings, bacon fat, butter, and gravy all go down the drain as warm liquids and harden as they cool in the pipe. In older West Chester homes, with rough cast iron drain lines, grease catches and builds up fast.

• Pour cooled grease and oil into a can or jar, let it harden, and throw it away.
• Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing them.
• Scrape plates into the trash, not the sink.
• Run the dishwasher full, and not at the same time as the washing machine and showers if your drains are slow.

The garbage disposal: not a trash can

Holiday cooking produces exactly the scraps disposals handle worst. Keep these out of it:

• Potato peels and other starchy scraps, which turn into paste
• Celery, onion skins, and other stringy or fibrous scraps
• Bones, fruit pits, and eggshells
• Coffee grounds
• Grease and fat of any kind

Run plenty of cold water while the disposal grinds and for a few seconds after. Feed scraps in slowly instead of all at once. If the disposal hums but will not spin, switch it off at the switch before reaching anywhere near it.

The guest bathroom: check it before guests arrive

A bathroom that sees little use all year suddenly hosts a crowd. A week before your guests come:

• Flush the toilet and watch it refill. It should stop filling on its own. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank; color in the bowl without flushing means a leaking flapper.
• Run the sink and tub. Slow drains will only get slower with more use.
• Put a plunger in every bathroom, discreetly, so guests do not have to ask.
• Add a small covered wastebasket and a gentle note if needed. Wipes and other products should never be flushed. Our article on flushable wipes explains why.

When a toilet starts to overflow

An overflowing toilet is the holiday call nobody wants to make in front of guests. If the bowl is filling and not draining, act fast:

1. Lift the tank lid and push the flapper down to stop more water from entering the bowl.
2. Close the shutoff valve on the wall behind the toilet by turning it clockwise.
3. Wait a few minutes for the level to drop, then use a flange plunger with slow, firm strokes.
4. If the water rises in a tub or floor drain when you plunge or flush, stop. The blockage is in the main line, not the toilet.

Do not flush again to test it until the bowl drains normally on its own.

The water heater: hot water for a crowd

Back-to-back showers can empty a tank quickly. Space showers out when you can, and run the dishwasher and laundry at different times of day. If your heater has been rumbling, running out fast, or showing rust at the base, have it checked before the season rather than during it. See water heater repair and replacement.

If you are traveling instead of hosting

Winter nights in West Chester average about 22°F in January, and December can bring hard cold snaps. Before you leave:

• Keep the heat on at a steady setting.
• Open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls.
• Disconnect hoses and shut off and drain outdoor spigots.
• Consider shutting off the main water valve while you are away. Our main shutoff valve guide shows how.

If something goes wrong anyway

Stop using the fixture that is backing up. If several drains are backing up at once, stop running water in the whole house, because the main line is likely blocked. See drain cleaning. If water is spilling or a pipe has burst, shut off the main valve first, then call. Our homepage covers what to do in a plumbing emergency step by step.