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Why does the oven go kaput on a holiday? No worries. Here’s how to go on the offense now.
Imagine you’re preparing to host your annual holiday party, and you’re past the point of no return. The veggies and meats have been bought. Guests are braving busy airports and crowded highways to get to your home — and then your oven won’t turn on. Your home-cooked meal has quickly turned into a frantic search for to-go meals from a local restaurant. That’s just one holiday hosting nightmare that can end your holiday party before it begins. We collected five of the most common issues and give you preventive tips to keep your party on track.
That’s just one of many hosting nightmares that can end your holiday party before it even begins. Thankfully, some of the most damaging mishaps can be easily avoided. We collected five of the most common issues and give you preventive tips to keep your party on track.
Problem: The Oven Doesn’t Heat
For any holiday occasion, the oven is the most important appliance in your house. If it fails to work, the centerpiece of your meal could go from roasted beef, ham, duck, or Tofurky to Peking Duck from the local Chinese takeout joint.
How to avoid:
- There are any number of reasons a stove can break, but one common cause is easy to prevent. Don’t self-clean your oven until AFTER the holidays. You risk blowing a fuse or a thermostat, and tracking down an oven technician around the holidays can be tough.
Problem: The Kitchen Sink Clogs
The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year for plumbers. The prime cause of this clog-a-thon is the mistreatment of drains when cooking holiday feasts. We hope your Thanksgiving went well, and that you avoid clog-a-thons for the rest of the holidays.
How to avoid:
- Fats and cooking oils can solidify in your pipes, so never dispose of them in your kitchen sink.
- If you have a garbage disposal, make sure it’s running before anything goes in it, and never feed it any stringy, fibrous, or starchy foods like poultry skins or potato peels.
- To fix, don’t rely on chemical drain-clearing products that can harm your pipes. Use a drain snake instead, available for $25 at your local hardware store. Some experts say if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could damage the pipes. So, hiring an expert is another, maybe safer, way to go. But finding a plumber around the holidays can be harder than cooking a five-course dinner.
Problem: The Heat Goes Out
When you’re holiday hosting, you’re supposed to hang guests’ coats — not apologize that the guests have to keep them on. A lack of heat can stop a holiday party dead in its tracks.
How to avoid:
- The key to avoiding freezing your party to a standstill is regular maintenance of your HVAC. Every 90 days, install a new one-inch pleated furnace filter. If you haven’t done it in a while, now’s a good time to replace it.
- Also inspect insulation on refrigerant lines leading into your house. Replace them if they’re missing or damaged.
Problem: The Toilet Stops Up
Toilets have a way of clogging at the worst times, such as during parties and when you have overnight guests. This is especially true if you have a low-flow toilet from the early 1990s.
How to avoid:
- Don’t flush anything other than sewage and toilet paper down the toilet. And there’s nothing wrong with putting up a polite note to remind your guests to do the same.
Problem: The Fridge Doesn’t Cool
Without a properly functioning refrigerator, your meat could get contaminated, your dairy-based treats could go sour, and you may not be able to save your yummy leftovers. To avoid discovering a warm fridge after it’s too late, take these simple precautions.
How to avoid:
- Get a thermometer for your refrigerator to make sure each shelf stays below 40 degrees and you can be aware of any temperature changes.
- Make sure the condenser coils located on the back of or beneath the unit are free to breathe. Coils blocked from circulating air by cereal boxes atop the fridge, or dirtied by dust or pet hair can prevent a fridge from keeping cool.
