TYLER — As families and loved ones prepare to slave away in the kitchen next week, local plumbers are gearing up for their own version of Thanksgiving.

Holidays mean more people congregating under one roof,  and the problem plumbers see all too often: There's too much demand for the bathroom and the garbage disposal.

"The more demand you put on a system, the more likely there is for breakdown," said Larry Mauch of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.

Mauch has learned from experience.

"Your kitchen sinks back up, your bathroom sinks backup, people are putting things down there that shouldn't go down there," Mauch said.

For the few days leading up to Thanksgiving, Mauch says he has learned to make himself available.

"People think a garbage disposal is a ticket to put whatever they want to down the drain. Don't put bones down the drain. A lot of your food scraps really aren't intended to go down your drain," he said.

When getting rid of those Thanksgiving scraps, Mauch says use common sense: use your trash can instead of your disposal and use hot water before, during and after cooking.

Or ... you can always give it to the the dog.