Toilet Paper Alternatives Causing Problems for California Sewers
By Space Coast Daily // April 2, 2020
The first quarter of 2020 has been a truly memorable one for all the wrong reasons. With the global pandemic, Covid-19, sweeping the globe, we have found ourselves in unprecedented time and this has led to a lot of changes.
Death rates are high around the world, infection rates are through the roof, and people have gone into panic-mode, which is understandable.
This panic has led to people stripping the supermarket shelves bare in order to stock up at home, and one of the things that has been flying off the shelves is toilet paper.
Quite why people are hoarding toilet paper remains to be seen, but what is certain is that it has led to many households being left without and finding it impossible to get their hands on any toilet paper.
Naturally, this has led to some people looking for alternative, but this has created its own problems.
Blocked Pipes and Sewer Issues
With social distancing measures in place, getting professionals into your home to do anything from electrical repairs to deal with damp basement walls in nigh on impossible at present.
However, by flushing all sorts of materials down the toilet, many people in California and beyond are risking blocking their own pipes, blocking the pipes of others, and causing huge issues with the sewer systems.
While the need to find alternatives to toilet paper cannot be helped, what people do need to ensure is that they dispose of the materials properly.
Things like t-shirts and baby wipes are not designed to be flushed, and some experts have said that even when wipes are labelled as flushable, all this means is that they will flush down your loo. It does not mean they won’t block your pipes and is certainly doesn’t mean that they are safe for sewer systems.
So, officials are now urging those who are using alternatives to toilet paper to use bags and the trash to dispose of the materials rather than flushing them down the toilet, as this is something that can create so many problems in people’s homes and for the sewer system as a whole.
They warned that continuing to put materials into the toilet and flushing them could also impact water systems, which could mean a whole new health problem facing an entire community.
Action has already had to be taken in Redding, after waste management officials were called to an emergency blockage in the sewer system that had been caused by soiled fabric.
This could have resulted in a spillover had the waste management professionals not managed to catch it in time and prevent the overspill. However, with so many people now using alternatives and flushing them down the toilet, the risks are getting greater and greater.
Many are hoping that the toilet roll shortage caused by Covid-19 panic buying will soon come to an end, which will help to resolve the issue. However, until then, officials are urging residents in California to heed their warnings.
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