It’s Time to Talk About the No-Flush List Again

When a customer comes calling with a request for a new type of service, New York’s Zuech’s Environmental Services invests in equipment and education to get the job done right.

It’s Time to Talk About the No-Flush List Again

Contact Jim with your comments, questions and opinions at editor@pumper.com

How often is too often to cover the basics of septic system care with customers? Specifically what can and can’t be flushed down the toilet? You can’t review these recommendations too much.

As you prepare for the busy season ahead, it would be a good idea to create a new list of tips for homeowners. It could be a simple list printed out on a sheet of paper, added to the back of your business cards, included on your company website or fashioned into a brochure you hand out to all potential customers. 

And when you put together this list, don’t assume your customers know a lot about proper septic system care. Start with the premise that they might be dumping anything down the toilet or sink drain. Disregard all the most basic, commonsense advice you’ve ever heard or shared before. Consider your customer an empty vessel that needs to be filled with tips of the trade.

That’s just what plumbing company Southern Trust Home Services did for a recent press release to inform the general public about clogs in home wastewater systems. Company officials in Roanoke, Virginia, have learned what’s most important in customer education: repeat, repeat, repeat.

When in doubt, throw it out. That’s what the plumbing outfit says.

“We see it all the time,” Southern Trust Home Services owner Ted Puzio says. “People flush lots of things down the toilet and don’t think twice about the consequence until their toilet doesn’t work anymore. We’ve found a lot of interesting items in clogged drains and think it’s important to encourage people to be more careful with what they flush.”

The following are the items on the Southern Trust Home Services no-flush list, along with their explanations:

• Sanitary and baby wipes: Unfortunately, the majority of these wipes say they’re flushable on the package, but they’re not. The fibers in the wipes are much thicker than those of toilet paper, so they don’t break down the same way.

• Anything cotton: Just like sanitary wipes, cotton does not break down enough to make it through the pipes. Eventually, it gets stuck in a pipe turn and causes a backup.

• Paper towels: It may seem OK to flush paper towels because they are of the same nature as toilet paper, but flushed paper towels are one of the leading causes of clogged pipes. They’re made to be ultra-absorbent and, therefore, are considerably thicker than toilet paper, even when wet.

• Cigarette butts: Cigarettes are full of incredibly toxic chemicals that will seep into the water stream. If these are not completely filtered out, they could end up in the water supply.

• Adhesive bandages: They’re made from nonbiodegradable plastic, which is bad for the environment. Also, adhesive bandages can easily stick to pipes and cause issues.

• Medications: It may seem like flushing expired medication is the right thing to do, but since medicine contains any number of chemicals and toxins, it can be dangerous. These chemicals are made to kill bacteria, which can have extreme effects on local wildlife and ecosystems.

• Dental floss: Waxed or unwaxed, don’t flush it. Not only is floss not biodegradable, but it can also tangle up with other debris and turn small clogs into big ones. If flushed into a septic tank, floss can wind itself around a motor and cause it to burn out.

• Kitty litter: It may not seem that bad since it’s cat waste, but kitty litter is made of clay and sand, which will create major problems for plumbing.

• Feminine hygiene products: These products expand when they come in contact with liquid. This means, when flushed, they absorb more water and get stuck in the pipes.

• Fats, oils and grease: Flushing food waste is a bad idea that will lead to any number of plumbing problems. When hot, these products are in a liquid state, but once they cool, they congeal and build up on the sides of the pipes.

MORE ON WIPES

I could suggest some more items for the list. One would be the hair that collects at the bottom of shower drains, which could cause a similar tangled mess in pipes as dental floss. And how about cleaning solutions and bleach that can negatively impact the beneficial bacteria in a septic tank? Any product that contains a laundry list of chemicals is probably a bad idea, including many corrosive drain cleaners and clog removers that require the user to wear rubber gloves and protective goggles to apply. Mechanical means of addressing clogs are usually the best way to attack slow drains, whether it be with a snake or a water jet, depending on the situation.

I know many pumpers will simply tell homeowners that the only things that should go down the toilet are human wastes and toilet paper. That’s good, solid, and simple advice, but it’s apparently not enough given the variety of trash pumpers tell me they continue to find in septic tanks. Homeowners, even myself on occasion, follow an impulse to drop something else down the drain without thinking first. I’ve caught myself almost tossing a ball of hair or a facial tissue in the toilet bowl. … And I’ve worked in the wastewater industry for 15 years. 

And we also have to continue to fight misinformation in the marketplace concerning “flushability” of commercial products. You know what I’m referring to. Those nasty wipes. The makers of these products are being sued, and there’s a pretty substantial public relations campaign to stop the flow of so-called flushable wipes into both septic systems and municipal treatment plants. But the problem persists. 

And it’s serious enough that I know pumpers have started to apply a wipes surcharge to some customers who won’t get with the program and keep filling their tanks with these problematic woven products. It’s not out of sight, out of mind with wipes; they cause a pumping and disposal issue for pumpers, and treatment plants don’t want to see clumps of wipes show up in your trucks.

PREACHING THE WORD

It’s often said that common sense is not that common today. And that’s the attitude you have to adopt when it comes to consumer education about septic system use. It’s a brand-new year, and you have to approach each customer with an enthusiasm to share your knowledge and set them on the right path. This can be a huge challenge. … But your efforts upfront will be rewarded with fewer emergency calls, fewer complaints from users, and less wipes and other foreign matter getting stuck in your hoses or filling up your vacuum tank. 



Discussion

Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. Comments are moderated before being posted.