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

Is moist toilet paper ok? We use those, and it says on the packet use no more than two per flush.

Moist toilet paper is not flushable, no.

As someone else mentioned we don't flush the toilet either during the night to avoid waking people up. We avoid the problem of perhaps too much toilet paper going down with the first flush in the morning and causing a block by pouring a small bucket of water down first which moves the paper slowly rather than all at once.

Some toilet tissue claims to be stronger - does it disintegrate in water as fast as other toilet paper? Maybe toilet roll manufacturers should have to put how fast their paper disintegrates in water on the packet.

Are the wet wipe companies allowed to put "flushable" just because it will go down the toilet?

Are some Toilet papers better for flushing down the toilet because the extra quilted always block my Toilet up so am assuming these fancy thick Toilet rolls Don't disintegrate as well as thinner cheaper rolls as these don't tend to block up ?

Um, this may horrify some people but where I live, the food waste recycling is in communal street bins. I don't have much waste and use it but some things - e.g. a little left over soup or sauce is just to tricky to bag up and carry down the street so would flushing it (easier than trying to force down the sink) be really bad?

What is the best method for encouraging something to go down that has resisted repeated flushes

Shared drains, what can be done when in a row of terraces, we at the end get the blockage first caused by people flushing things they shouldn't from further up the terrace?

Are flushable wipes really ok to flush?

It's fat/oil I have the most trouble with. I try to find an empty bottle to pour it into but are there any other suggestions?

We don't put any on these down the toilets. Just 1s and 2s and associated toilet paper.
Through i would like to know where to get rid of old oil and unwanted paint.

Are ANY of the "flushable" wipe products flushable? Toddler wipes, moist toilet tissue, toilet cleaning wipes.

Are coffee grounds OK to pour down the sink?

How much do you think it costs to deal with this (and therefore what cost to the customers) I would definitely change my habits if it would bring bills down a bit!

When you dig out an enormous lump of congealed fat and poo, what happens to it? Presumably it won't decay. Can it be burned? Or rendered down?

I have some Dettol bathroom cleaning wipes - they say they are flushable but I never have put them down the toilet - I just don't trust that they will break down in the sewers.

Are all products that claim to be 'flushable' actually safe to flush, do they have to be tested in order to print that on their packaging?

Sure, tampons and pads are "unflushables". How can we ensure that bins are more widely available in public toilets? It is horrible when I am out and about at that time of the month and there are no sanitary bins - it leaves so many women with no hygienic choice but to flush them down the loo.

I've always been very confused by the 'flushable' toddler moist toilet wipes - are they, or aren't they? If not, are there any plans to ensure that the companies remove this label?

Some "flushable" wipes are also biodegradable (e.g. Aldi) and some aren't (e.g. Andrex) Can the biodegradable ones be flushed?

Whats the best way to dispose of cooking fats? Bining them, itll cause a stink in a matter of days.

I wonder about soup, and other liquid foods eg soggy leftover cereals, stews, gravies, curry sauces etc? They're too liquid for food recycling & the bin, so I've tender to flush them down the loo

Are moist toilet papers such as Andrex moist really flushable?

Why can't water companies offer us sanitary bins for use within the household that they empty once every month? I'd happily pay for the service

What about all the cleaning chemicals we flush? I often empty the mop bucket down the toilet and at cleaning tablets to the cistern. How are these diluted? I always feel bad about 'poluting' but don't know what else we would so

i can train my family not to flush tampons, I have done and i dont buy moist toilet wipes but how can they sell them when they know people will flush them?

Also interested to know how risky hair is for our drains. I lose a lot of hair just washing it daily. I do clean the shower plug hole regularly.

Also, our toilets flushes are all useless - and the water in pan whooshes from cistern but then seems to not go anywhere - toilet paper bobs up v shredded. Should I get the drains checked and unblocked?