ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Thanksgiving is a big holiday for our ovens, fridges, microwaves and all those kitchen utensils.

But don’t take the kitchen sink for granted. One little clog can derail your entire Thanksgiving agenda, and local plumbers will tell you, it’s unfortunately a yearly tradition.

“This is our Super Bowl. This is where we put the wheel to the grindstone, and we help out the community the best we can,” said Ralph Gutierrez, production manager of TLC Plumbing. 

Gutierrez says they start getting calls for help well before Thursday, usually for harrowing scenes.

“If you’re seeing a backup, you’re probably experiencing some bubbles, some bubbling, maybe some smells, maybe the water is not going down quickly enough in your sink. That’s the time where you know you have an issue,” said Gutierrez. 

If you want to avoid the holiday headache, Gutierrez says to keep the scraps in the trash.

“We really hope they don’t put the peels down the disposal, because it’s going to cause issues,” Gutierrez said. 

He says absolutely nothing from the turkey should end up in the drain. If you do have a small clog in your sink, Gutierrez says avoid the urge to use a drain cleaner.

”It will compound the problem, because it’s actually not removing any bioproducts from your line. So when it clogs up again, then you have a compacted problem, and now it’s more of an issue to deal with,” Gutierrez said. 

Rest assured, Gutierrez says plumbers are standing by on Thanksgiving for those holiday hazards.

“We’re here for you. If you have any situations where you have a water leak, if you have situations where your water is not going down, or you have flooding happening, give us a call, and we’ll take care of it no sweat,” said Gutierrez.