I tell my new tenants that nothing is to be flushed down the toilet that hasn't been eaten first - except toilet paper :)
The lease is actually worded somewhat differently, but I do put a list of items that other tenants have flushed. Diapers, keys, socks, washcloths, small toys. Some were flushed accidentally by kids, others by those not thinking.
I tell my new tenants that nothing is to be flushed down the toilet that hasn't been eaten first - except toilet paper :)
The lease is actually worded somewhat differently, but I do put a list of items that other tenants have flushed. Diapers, keys, socks, washcloths, small toys. Some were flushed accidentally by kids, others by those not thinking.
Absolutely not. Terrible for the system. I have just learned more than I ever wanted to know about main line sewer clogs, and most of the advice was to ban all use of supposedly "flushable" wipes, feminine hygeine products, paper towels, etc. Toilet paper degrades almost immediately. The others can take days, weeks, or months, clogging up the system in the meantime. They say the wipes actually clog up the works at the city facilities, causing all sorts of problems, to be paid for by taxpayer dollars. Toilet paper only.
When I was a renter over 20 years ago, I used to flush dental floss down the toilet. Eventually, it clogged into a giant ball further down the line and my landlord had to remove the toilet and snake out the line. I tell tenants this story too :)
Not since I spent hundreds of dollars on unclogging my sewer line this past fall and having my insurance company pay even more. Ultimately, my problem was roots, but it was extremely exacerbated by the"flushable" wipes.
I went thru this last year with my "golden girls tenants", an older mother & daughter. Both blamed the other for using them and denied their own use...it was almost comical. Kept having to plunge the toilet and then finally pump the septic. Once we opened the lid, all the wipes were floating in the scum layer, they will never break down.
More importantly.... How do you stop it? When I lease a place the tenants initial that all drains work accordingly and they are responsible if they clog them. But, beyond that you can't stop it.
Here the City spent over 30K removing wipes from one sewer lift station last autumn (they have four more pumps that are partially clogged) and took over 3-tonne of them to the landfill. There have also been issues with laterals being clogged (particularly older cast iron or clay lines). The City has made it very clear to property owners that if they are required to clear a lateral due to a blockage resulting from wipes, the property owner will foot the entire bill.
We have likewise made it very clear to our tenants that the use of wipes is prohibited in our properties and any costs incurred to clear an obstruction resulting from their use will be passed along to the tenant.
We had one instance in November where tenants use of wipes managed to clog a backflow valve at one of our properties. I cost more than $250 to clear and repair and the tenant was invoiced for the full amount.
I state in my lease that all drains are operating properly at the signing of the lease, and tenant is responsible for all stoppages. This has eliminated 99% of all my drain problems!!
Most municipalities are seeing the downside of flushable wipes. I wish the manufacturers would stop marketing them as flushable. Sure they flush through the toilet fine, but it's true they don't break down and get caught on tree roots and in the sewage treatment plant machinery. If you don't spell it out for the tenant, they won't think anything about it and will follow the directions on the package and flush them. Absolutely we need to educate our tenants and prohibit the flushing of wipes!