MELBOURNE, Fla. — Thanksgiving may be over at Bill West's Melbourne home. The veteran enjoyed a meal brought over by his cleaning lady.

West received more company Friday, in the form of a plumber, who he called for help.

"Got some water coming up in the shower when I flush the commode," West said.

"The garbage disposal, that's what did it," said West.

While cleaning up his meal, he put some leftover potatoes in the kitchen sink. The peels clogged things up.

"Unwanted food items and possibly some paper," said Dave Larson of Walker Plumbing Services in Brevard County. "It is our busiest, and unfortunately a lot of it is drain work."

His company is slammed with calls. Many of them are like this predicament — clogged up drain lines.

But also there's stopped-up toilets left behind because of a packed house full of family.

The best advice from plumbers to save on a visit? Don't pour grease down the drain. It can harden up in the pipes below. Instead, try to place it in a separate shatterproof container (empty food cans or coffee cans work well), let it solidify, then throw it out. 

Also, throw turkey bones and other food scraps away in the trash.

As for West, he's learned his lesson.

"That's the way it goes," shrugged West. "You never can tell."

Larson says they will also be busy over the weekend as people take care of their leftovers, and potentially end up with more clogged sinks.