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

[AmeliaMumsnet]

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

country yeah I do, but Dont have kids so it's not like I'm going loads of nappy changes and wiping down sticky toddlers. I think it averages out to one a day.

I wouldn't flush a nappy, way too big, but I was taught by my mum to flush sanitary towels and tampons! I don't use them anymore but used to bin them in public toilets with the proper bins (and flushed them at work where the all male staff couldn't understand the need for proper bins )

Yep, certainly shouldn't flush sanitary towels, tampons or wet wipes!!!

Hmmm.

You don't mention spirograph, that's what clogged up our toilet.

Surely it wasn't only us??

Re fat from cooking, I pour it into an empty tin can then when it gets halfway full stuff a bit of newspaper into it to stop it spilling and then put it in the bin bag at the top as I'm putting the rubbish out.

having a very sick child who often vomits up sometimes daily due to treatment side effect.they worry they will block the toilet so someimtes hide it from us or gets scared she will cause us more harm.
can we reassure her.it shouldn't be another worry for her yet she is always worried for us

Someone please share their tricks for disposing of old cooking oil! When it's congealed into fat (grim, I know, must sort out my diet) it's solid enough to wipe into the bin but I never know what to do with it when it's liquid... invariably ends up sitting on the windowsill for 6 weeks until DH is so disgusted he pours it over loads of crumpled up newspaper in the bin. But a) all that paper then goes to landfill instead of recycling and b) sometimes we don't have any newspaper in the house!
In terms of toilet clogging our main culprit is DD's giant poos!

kateandme ex-bulimic here. Vomit can block the toilet but ime once or twice a day isn't going to do it. 6 or 7 might...

Thames water gave me some rather nifty little "fat traps". Failing that I pour surplus cooking fat into egg cartons which absorb and contain sufficiently to allow it to be binned.

Here's a photo

What about the toilet cleaning wipes marked as flushable? Are they really okay to flush? Very different to wet wipes (not okay) but I am sceptical still.

In a loo roll crisis, we have been known to put kitchen roll in the bathroom and use it for toilet paper until the shops open. According to the adverts, it is really strong. Will it break down in the sewer system, or cause blockages?

I generally wipe fat from a baking tin and throw it away. There is however some fat left on trays. I've heard that if you wash it down the sink with plenty of hot water then it's ok? Is this true?

My son uses the flushable wipes. They say one per flush but he sometimes uses two. Is this really bad?

Thank you

Are 'flushable' wipes really flushable? And what about washing oily pans?

I used to flush tampons, back in the day when we were told to

The whole oil/ cooking waste thing could do with some clarity, will watch with interest.

Oil I would pour when cool enough into say an old margarine tub, you can bin it then or scrape it out into a bin bag

I know that wipes are not flushable - even if they say they are. But what is being done about the manufacturers using ' flushable' as a USP?

Cotton pads? The type for removing makeup. Are they ok?

Having mopped the floor, I will empty the bucket of water down the toilet. I assume that's ok, same as pouring it down the sink?

No!!

cooking fat you can pour into a tin. If you use kitchen roll, you can stiff your used ones into the tin first, and they will absorb the fat to prevent it running out in the bin. In summer you can use the greasy paper to help light your barbie.

I was once advised by a plumber to use loo roll made from recycled paper - not because he was particularly environmentally-conscious, but because he said that it fell apart in the loo better than the quilted triple-ply stuff, so was much better for not blocking either your own u-bend, or messing up the general sewage. Is this right?

I'd totally support a campaign to get all wipes marked as non-flushable, but I do have a question about kitchen roll. I have, on occasion, taken a square of kitchen roll into the bathroom when I know we've run out of loo paper. I've just bought a new kind of kitchen roll - each sheet is circular and you pull it from a sort of cone shape, and I've noticed in kitchen use it's virtually indestructible, and doesn't fall apart in water at all. So I won't be buying it again, won't take it into the bathroom, and wonder if you think "not flushable" signs should also go on super-strength kitchen roll as well as wipes?

It would be really good to hear from Sharon's experience about those positive comms initiatives which have worked in areas where sewer flooding has been a problem historically. How is an area defined as a problem area and what messages do get through to folk so that they change their behaviour?

Polyanthus on coffee grounds - if you have a garden, then are really good for it! (You can even pick up bags of used coffee grounds from some Starbucks, that's how much some gardeners want them!)

The wet wipes that are labeled 'flushable', are they really? They are so helpful for finishing wiping the childrens bottoms, but I worry about a negative impact from flushing them.

No, nothing is flushable except toilet roll and body waste. Packet labels are lies.

For the person with the sick child - vomit is body waste and that is OK. I hope things improve.