Apartment suffer disruption and unpleasantness caused by blocked drains

[SAISAGASResidentsAssociation]

Apartment suffer disruption and unpleasantness caused by blocked
drains and sewer flooding each month. It can be a foul and costly
experience, which is easily avoidable.

Sewers are designed to take away waste water from sinks and baths,
toilet paper and human waste flushed down the toilet, and rainwater
which runs into road drains.

What not to flush
The drains connected to your home are only designed to carry water,
human waste and toilet tissue. People sometimes put other products
down the toilet or sink which can snag in the pipe and cause a
blockage. Even items that appear to have the same texture as toilet
paper (such as hand wipes) may not break down if flushed down the
toilet.

Some items which should not be flushed include:
Fat, oil or grease, which will harden even if put down the sink with
hot water or soap.
Waste food or garden waste
Nappies and nappy liners
Sanitary products
Plastic bags and wrappers
Needles and syringes
Old clothing and rags
Plaster or cement
Condoms
Paper handkerchiefs
Multipurpose wipes
Cat litter
Cotton wool, cotton pads and cotton buds
Paint and paint thinners

It can be very difficult and expensive to remove some of these items
because a contractor may have to dig down to the pipe to extract them.

Three months of sewer blockages are caused by people putting items
they shouldn’t down toilets or drains, and half of sewer flooding
incidents are caused by these blockages.

Drainage pipes are usually four inches in diameter and are only
designed to carry water, human waste and toilet tissue. When other
items are flushed down the toilet they can get lodged in the pipe and
build up a blockage. Blocked drains stop waste water from leaving your
property. When waste water backs up it can come out of the toilet or
sink, flooding your home. Consumers spend millions of pounds every
year clearing blockages from household drains. Flushing inappropriate
items down the toilet and sink may also block the public sewer,
disrupting your neighbors’.

We have spend around rs25,000 last month clearing blockages from
common sewers. These costs are paid for by all customers in their
maintenance bills which was additional to not able to bare these
unfortunate and uneducated consequences.

Let us make this as first and last time, from next time onwards we
have decided to add up these cost to the residents from as an
additional payment.