Americans coping with coronavirus are clogging toilets with wipes and T-shirts
"Toilets are not trash cans," the EPA is warning as a shortage of toilet paper leads to desperate measures.
Americans coping with coronavirus are clogging toilets with wipes and T-shirts
Toilets are not trash cans. Please remember napkins, paper towels, and so called "flushable" wipes can all clog your pipes.
Roto-Rooter, one of the nation’s biggest plumbing service providers, has sent out an email to its many customers spelling out the “flushing rules.”
“If you're all out of toilet paper, there's no perfect solution, but you should never flush paper towels and napkins,” the rules state. “They don't dissolve quickly in water and are likely to cause your toilet to back up. Facial tissue is another bad idea, but in the absence of toilet paper, you can use it in small amounts if you flush frequently.”
In South Florida, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department urged residents to bag dirty wipes instead and throw them out with the trash.
“This increase in the use of cleaning wipes is only exacerbating a problem we deal with on a daily basis,” Jennifer Messemer-Skold told the Miami Herald.
The county already removes 300 tons of wipes from its sewer system every month, the paper reported.
And in Chicago, retired plumber Craig Campeglia told the Chicago Tribune that he expects the phones of sewer drain experts will be ringing off the hook once the shelter-at-home rules start easing up.
You haven’t been wiping before?
