THINK BEFORE YOU FLUSH!

An overflowing toilet or basement drain can ruin your home in an instant! Just a small amount of household waste flushed down the toilet (or dumped down the drain or garbage disposal) can clog pipes and cause nasty messes in your home, and expensive sewer backups in our community.

Think Before You Flush Brochure

Avoid clogs by keeping this stuff out of your toilet:

  • Bandages & sticker backs
  • Tampons & applicators
  • Maxi pads & their wrappers
  • Cotton swabs & makeup pads
  • Dental floss
  • Whitening strips & their wrappers
  • Kitty litter
  • Condoms & their wrappers
  • Hair
  • Syringes
  • Baby and personal wipes
  • Cleaning wipes
  • Paper towels

DID YOU KNOW? “Flushable Wipes” are a leading cause of sewer backups in our community. Even if the package says “flushable”, they should NEVER be flushed. They belong in the trash!

Prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications should NOT go down the drain. For proper disposal methods and drop-off locations, see http://useonlyasdirected.org/safe-disposal/.
Take care in the kitchen, too! Fats, oils and grease (FOG) aren’t just bad for your arteries and your waistline; they’re bad for sewers. Sources of FOG include:

  • Meat fats
  • Lard & cooking oil
  • Shortening, butter & margarine
  • Food scraps
  • Baking goods, sauces & dairy products

To keep kitchen sinks and household piping clog-free:

  • Always pour or scrape cooled fats, oils and grease into a covered, disposable container and throw it into your garbage. Never pour fats, oils or grease down sink drains or toilets.
  • Soak up remaining oils and grease with an absorbent material such as paper towels and throw into your garbage.
  • Before you wash dishes, scrape food scraps, fats, oils and grease into your garbage.

Here are some other things you can do to protect your home and property:

  1. Install a backflow prevention valve as required by the International Plumbing Code.
  2. Avoid storing important documents and valuable personal property on or near a basement drain. These items should be kept off of the floor in water-tight containers.
  3. Avoid placing expensive carpet, rugs or upholstered furniture on or near a basement drain.
  4. Place water alarms in your basement to facilitate detection of backups early.

 

For further information, contact the South Davis Sewer District
at 801-295-3469.