How careful are you when it comes to what goes down your drains? It may seem convenient to flush anything and everything down the toilet or in the bathroom, kitchen or laundry sink, which all ends up in the sewerage system. The treated sewage will either be reused or returned to creeks, oceans or rivers, which means when the wrong things go down the sewer it affects the process to reuse the water and can ultimately damage the sewerage system.
What shouldn’t go down your drains?
It may seem pretty straight forward, however there are some items and products you may not realise actually affect your drains and the sewerage system. These are:
- Fats, Oils and Motor Oils
- Plastics
- Any sort of medicine
- Non-biodegradable products
- Paints
- Food scraps
- Cotton buds
- Wrappers
- Sanitary items and Nappies
These items can ultimately cause a lot of damage to your pipes and may end up blocking them which can affect your property and surrounding properties.
Useful Tips
- Household and chemical products can be collected and safely disposed of at a permanent or mobile drop off point
- Sink strainers will prevent unwanted food scraps from going down the drain. A compost heat is a good way to dispose of food scraps
- Remove excess fats and oils from pans with a paper towel
- Throw away excess fats and oils
- Have rubbish bins in all bathrooms to dispose of nappies, sanitary products and cotton products
- Try use less detergent as it can end up harming your drains and try use washing detergents with low salt content