Every professional septic service in Bethel, OH has had to respond to frantic calls from homeowners experiencing stubborn pipe clogs and overflowing toilets. The causes of these plumbing problems usually have one thing in common—they are the result of a buildup or blockage caused by non-flushable items. The following are six things that should never go down the drain:
- Grease, fats and oils: Cookware covered in cooking fats, grease and oils should not be rinsed off in the kitchen sink or flushed down the toilet. It may seem like they go down easily, but that’s only because they are in a liquid state at the time. However, they will quickly cool, congeal and harden as they make their way through your home’s plumbing. Over time, these fats build up along pipe walls, making it difficult for water to pass through.
- Feminine care products: Most public restrooms post signs reminding women to properly dispose of pads, liners and tampons in the small waste bins provided in each stall. This is because these items are designed to expand as they absorb moisture. Once they expand, feminine care products may have a hard time navigating the pipes, and that’s if they can make it past the U-pipe. Also, since they are not biodegradable, they wreak havoc on waste systems, and bacteria in septic systems are not able to break them down.
- Wet wipes and other non-toilet paper items: Most all bathroom moist wipes are advertised as flushable, but they do not break down in water like toilet paper does—they remain intact. Other items of concern include paper towels, tissues, cotton balls and cotton ear swabs, all of which can easily clog your plumbing over time. If they do make it all the way through a home’s plumbing, it’s likely they’ll build up and contribute to “fatbergs” in the sewer system.
- Prescription medications: It’s a common misconception that flushing unused pills is the right thing to do when, in fact, it is very dangerous to do. Because sewage systems don’t remove medicine from the water, it ends up in our lakes, rivers and oceans. This leads to contaminated ground water that negatively affects wildlife. In septic tanks, medications can destroy good bacteria and cause all sorts of damage.
- Toxic chemicals: Although water treatment facilities are able to remove a great deal of water contaminants, there are still a number of dangerous chemicals that go down drains everyday that will end up dumped in rivers, lakes and oceans. This messes with the ecosystem and can destroy septic tanks and city sewer systems. For this reason, toxic chemicals like harsh cleaning products, bleach, solvents, pesticides, paint and oils should never go down your drains.
- Fish or other pets: Hands down, you should never flush live or dead pets. First, because the bodies could clog pipes and damage sewer or septic systems, but also because live fish that make it to freshwater can upset the balance of those ecosystems and bring harm and disease to aquatic environments.
Don’t hesitate to call Gullett Sanitation Services Inc. whenever you need septic service in Bethel, OH!