A huge issue we see in the UK when it comes to drain care is that people are unknowingly flushing wet wipes which causes big problems for our drainage systems.
Did you know that 75% of drain blockages are caused by people flushing wet wipes down the toilet? This is completely avoidable, so if you can make the change from flushing to binning, you could save money and time by not suffering from blocked drains as often.
Wet wipes are non-biodegradable which means when they are flushed down the toilet they don’t break down and disintegrate. Instead they can get caught on the uneven walls of your pipes and start to clog them up. Unfortunately, many wet wipes are stating on their packaging that they are ‘flushable’, but a BBC investigation in 2018 revealed that in fact there were no wet wipes that met the criteria to be labelled as such. Even though they may appear to flush fine and go down the toilet, the problem they stay stuck in the pipes, unable to break down and then over time pick up other debris to create big masses.
The producers of many of the ‘flushable’ wet wipes insist they have met the criteria needed to use the ‘fine to flush’ logo, as they have carried out disintegration tests themselves. But luckily for our drains and environment, the only place that is now carrying out these tests, is the WRC Testing Facility. This will ensure that wet wipes are up to the correct standard if they wish to gain the certification.
Wet wipes are used daily across the UK, as surface wipes, baby wipes, makeup wipes etc. and there is nothing wrong with them until you flush them down the toilet. It is always best to dispose of your wipes by binning them. In December 2019, Thames Water removed a giant fatberg from the sewers weighing up to 30 tonnes, made up of wet wipes, nappies, grease and fat. To help prevent this happening, and to stop you having unnecessary blockages we recommend you only ever flush the 3 Ps; poo, pee and (toilet) paper.
Metro Rod Manchester offer services from dealing with blocked drains, drain repair, CCTV surveys and septic tank maintenance. We believe in simple things and make sure we follow them through; available 24/7, professional, value for money service during and after the job and peace of mind in the fact that all our engineers are highly trained, DBS checked and fully insured.
Make sure you get in touch with us through any of the following:
Enquire through our website: https://www.metrorod.co.uk/local/manchester/
Get in touch with us via email: manchester@metrorod.co.uk
Call us on 0808 208 2639
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