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Ask Southern Water’s experts about ‘The Unflushables’ - items that could cause a sewer flood in your home - £150 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

312 replies

AmeliaMumsnet · 28/03/2017 09:16

Every year in England and Wales water companies deal with over 300,000 blockages, many of which are caused by common household items being flushed down the toilet. That’s why Southern Water, along with the Consumer Council for Water, have launched ‘The Unflushables’, a campaign to help people protect themselves from the misery of sewer flooding. Many products that have been labelled as ‘flushable’ can actually contribute to these types of problems, so, to clear up some of the confusion, the team at Southern Water are offering you the opportunity to ask some of your burning, sewer-related questions to their expert, Sharon Holdstock!

Here’s what Southern Water have to say: “‘The Unflushables’ campaign aims to help people know how to properly dispose of fat, oil, grease and unflushable items like wipes, tampons, nappies and condoms. It’s designed to help customers understand the impact a sewage flood in their house can have – and provide some hints and tips to help prevent it.”

Post any questions you might have about ‘The Unflushables’ - how to dispose of them, what can and can’t be flushed, or how to get into good habits to prevent sewer flooding, and we’ll pick 20 for Sharon to answer. Everyone who posts their questions will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky Mumsnetter will win a £150 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Here is some information about Sharon Holdstock:

Sharon is currently Southern Water’s Field Customer Engagement Officer, and has been with the company for five years. She travels to areas that have been affected by flooding caused by blocked drainage systems and advises people on what not to flush, giving talks and presentations around the community. She is passionate about this project, and about the importance of getting the message out to as many people as possible to help them protect their homes and the environment.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw,

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Ask Southern Water’s experts about ‘The Unflushables’ - items that could cause a sewer flood in your home - £150 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED
Ask Southern Water’s experts about ‘The Unflushables’ - items that could cause a sewer flood in your home - £150 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
ukraines · 06/04/2017 17:42

still public uneducated

charrlieb92 · 06/04/2017 18:47

I have three cats and I'm trying to switch to wooden litter pellets as they are much cheaper. A friend already uses them & she says you can scoop the poo out & flush it down the toilet, any pellets will disintegrate.. is that true?

Aroseforemily · 06/04/2017 19:35

On the cat litter I buy it says it's flushable.

Aroseforemily · 06/04/2017 19:38

Is it OK for the water from the carpet shampooed to go down the toilet?

Sellins · 06/04/2017 19:52

Can you flush cotton wool?

sarcod · 06/04/2017 20:02

I buy moist toilet tissues and I do worry about flushing them although they do say you can, they are very thick and I wonder if I'm doing the right thing, are these contributing to the problem.

CountryCaterpillar · 06/04/2017 20:18

No sellins.

multiplemummy · 06/04/2017 20:49

I've got a cat & a dog & always through their leftover wet food down the toilet. If it gets put in the bin, it starts to smell really quickly. My theory is; cat food is "kinda" the same consistency as what you'd "normally" flush down the loo so surely that's okay. Is it??

claza93 · 06/04/2017 20:53

I must admit that I flush the hair that gets clogged up in the shower down the toilet. Is this a good idea or should I be putting this in the bin?

FairytalesAreBullshit · 06/04/2017 21:02

As someone trained in Pluvial FRM, are you committed to moving from the older systems where sewage is combined with storm water, reducing the risk of overflow into water systems? Or worse case scenario water coming through drains?

Could you give an indication of the percentage of combined drainage to single entity?

Also if you have any jobs you can do from home, would love to hear from you. Can do all drainage calcs etc manually.

ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander · 06/04/2017 21:06

Worth a try fairytales!

Lydiag1 · 06/04/2017 21:24

Is it ok to flush kitchen towel ?
Are baby wipes are no no to flush ?
I'm also really confused by bathroom cleaning wipes can these be flushed or will they cause a blockage ?

Thank you

OksanaFitzgerald · 06/04/2017 22:23

Can you flash wet wipes down the toilet?

robyn297 · 06/04/2017 22:24

What is the best way to unblock a drain?

paulacheadle · 06/04/2017 22:47

not everything that is advertised is flushable is ie :- wipes

jphowden89 · 06/04/2017 22:48

Are baby wipes/ toilet wipes ok to flush down? I've seen flush-able toilet wipes but are the normal type ok as well?

jphowden89 · 06/04/2017 22:50

I know you can buy toilet wipes that specifically say "flushable" on them but are the others ok to flush down as well?

clopper · 06/04/2017 22:51

I've got some leftover watered down paint where I was painting new plaster. Can this be put into drains safely or how should I dispose of it?

brizy83 · 06/04/2017 22:57

Is it right that wet-wipes are a problem and should't be flushed? I've heard varying reports .... are there different types that can/cannot be flushed?

SmokedSalmonAndFizz · 06/04/2017 23:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FairytalesAreBullshit · 06/04/2017 23:08

As a rule keep a bin handy for wipes, they can collect and obstruct the down pipe. Then if anyone in the house has solid stools, it all kind of congregates till it needs rodding or worst case the pipe being dismantled.

I would go as far to keep baby nappy bags for all sanitary waste.

Some toilets you may need to flush before wiping for certain things, saves you having to get your hand down the u-bend.

As a rule toilet paper only to be flushed, so no kitchen roll, although if it's cheaply ones and you're desperate, not that much of an issue.

It's not necessarily you that will get the issues with the blockage. Say you're house 1, it'll likely impact houses 2,3 & 4, depending on how long it's left and how bad the issue is. We've had it before where a neighbour was flushing allsorts, caused a blockage for us, but the problem was on their property, so they were liable and had to give access to resolve it.

Also if you're buying an older house, especially one with an extension, it's worth asking for CCTV of the drains, as some builders are negligent and cause issues that could lead to rodents and all sorts of problems, plus impacting other properties. Rats in toilets is an actual thing, as demonstrated on another thread about the creatures. Drainage wasn't done properly so they gained access to a nursing home.

I'd say if you're broke and you know you have damp, problems with drainage, some will just move over having the problem rectified. So it's a couple of hundred £ well spent.

buckley1983 · 06/04/2017 23:13

My poor old Mum has a macerator toilet in her house & she pleadingly reminds all guests before coming in - no tampons, or flushable wipes - nothing except loo roll, pee or poo!

Is there any way of putting a filter in the loo to stop any non-poo/pee/loo roll items from going down the u-bend at all? Not sure how this would work - but may save many hours of poor folk having to waste their time & energy digging around in faeces to find the offending item!

While we're on the subject..Who the hell flushes nappies down the loo?! Have never understood this - surely just the size of them, & the volume of fluid they hold should ring alarm bells!

Minnibix · 06/04/2017 23:49

We are getting more and more wipes and things that now say they are flushable. Is that true can they be flushed down the loo if it says flushable on the packaging

baberooo · 06/04/2017 23:52

Are the the cleaning wipes that claim to be flushable, actually flushable? Or after time do they block the toilet?

Lialouise2519 · 07/04/2017 00:00

My question is
How bad are the 'flushable' toddler toilet wipes?