> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# EARLY BIRDS: Social services get a jump on chowdown The unwanted Thanksgiving guest
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/early-birds-social-services-get-a-jump-on-chowdown-the-unwanted-thanksgiving-guest/
- Published: 2006-11-23T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:09:22.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK*

CITYWIDE — Unfortunately, it’s not all that rare to spot a plumber’s crack nearby the bountiful Thanksgiving table spread.

While the Friday after Thanksgiving Day is known as the busiest shopping day of the year, Turkey Day is equally busy for plumbers, according to David Lupberger, a home improvement expert for ServiceMagic.com, a Web site connecting homeowners to industry professionals about home improvement.

Plumbing problems usually occur when Thanksgiving guests, eager to help the host after dinner, begin stuffing the sink drain with turkey skins, bones and other heavy matter better suited for the trash can. Unless the sink is equipped with a “2.5 horsepower supercharged Tim Allen-type of disposer,” the food will most likely cause some disruption, Lupberger said.

“Sometimes, people will pour a quart of grease into the drain,” Lupberger said Wednesday. “Unless you do it with hot water, it \[oil\] congeals in the drain.”

Lupberger’s advice is to toss food in the trash can, not down the drain.

“My rule of thumb is when in doubt, just throw it away,” he said.

The sink is not the only appliance keeping plumbers busy on Thanksgiving.

Keep a plunger handy, Lupberger advised, because many plumbers see clogged toilets caused by guests who make large deposits, or from toilet paper-happy children.

They’re important lessons to learn to avoid paying a hefty sum to plumbers who charge double on the holiday, Lupberger said. The average plumbing service can cost at least $200.

“They’re leaving their families to come to yours,” Lupberger said.

CI Plumbing on Lincoln Boulevard charges customers $250 per plumber traveling fee on Thanksgiving Day. After the plumbers arrive, customers have to fork over $125 an hour, said owner Damon Premer.

The day before Thanksgiving is also one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers, who are called to fix leaky faucets and running toilets for party hosts who want to make sure everything is perfect for the big day.

Like most plumbers in Santa Monica, CI Plumbing was also busy on Wednesday, receiving calls to fix sink stoppages and toilet clogs. The company also received a call from a homeowner who smelled gas because she sprayed cleaning solution over the pilot light, causing it to go out.

Over the years, Lupberger, who was a general contractor in Washington D.C., heard humorous stories about Thanksgiving Day bloopers from plumbers.

“I heard one story about a plumber who pulled a meat cleaver out of a disposer,”Lupberger said.“You can only imagine how much silverware ends up in disposers. You can hear it half a house away.”

Anything can end up in a garbage disposer. The same holds true for toilets.

On Thanksgiving Day last year, a plumber from CI Plumbing reportedly responded to a house in Bel Air to retrieve a drumstick from a toilet that contained an engagement ring worth up to $30,000.

The homeowner was planning to propose to his girlfriend that evening and decided to surprise her by hiding the ring inside the drumstick. Earlier that day, the girlfriend discovered a phone number while ironing the man’s pants, dialed the number and heard another woman’s voice on the line, prompting accusations of cheating.

When the girlfriend bit into something hard in the drumstick during dinner, she supposedly flipped out, wondering if the day could get any worse.

That was when the drumstick, and the ring, met its fate in the toilet.

The plumber was unable to retrieve the ring and Premer said he is not sure whether the two eventually became engaged.

The voice on the other line belonged to the ring saleswoman, Premer said.

“The ring was gone,” Premer said. “Done deal.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 23, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112306.pdf?ref=smdp.com)