The Utilities Team at TFN takes a lot of pride in serving and contributing to our community. Part of our independence as a community involves our utilities managing our own sewage treatment. While doing so has many benefits, our system is much smaller, so we as a community need to be very careful of what we send down our drains and toilets. Here is a friendly reminder of what to keep out of your drains (and toilets) to avoid costly repairs in your home and/or TFN’s sewer system.
Grease, oil and animal fats should never go down the drain! These items contribute mostly to maintenance costs within the sewage system causing build up, clogs, and poor sewer treatment. Grease causes issues from your household drain all the way to the sewage treatment plant and does not belong down the sink or toilet. Always dispose of any grease, oil and animal fats safely into the garbage or with other organics.
Baby Wipes, cosmetic wipes, paper towel, or tissues (Kleenex) – these products are never flushable and do not break down the same way as toilet paper does, all of them are a large contributor of clogs and expensive maintenance repairs.
Q-Tips, cotton pads, or band-aids – these items can easily clump together causing clogs in your household plumbing or at various points of the sewage collection system.
All menstrual products, condoms, and diapers – are designed to not break down in water and can be very large. Flushing these items will cause problems in your home or further in the system.
Dental Floss and hair – found in the sewage system wrapped around pumps. They do not degrade in water, can create a net, and get caught on everything; these items have contributed to very expensive maintenance repairs.
Cigarette Butts – do not break down in water and can cause clogs, it is also a waste of water to flush them and they contain toxic chemicals which pass through sewage treatment to the environment.
Kitty Litter – heavy and does not dissolve in water. The flow of waste from your home and within our system is not fast enough to move the kitty litter along and can result in large clogs involving costly maintenance.
Gum – does not break down in water, is sticky, and can attach itself to the insides of pipes causing clogs basically anywhere.
Medications – cannot be eliminated with sewage treatment, which results in toxic chemicals making their way into our environment or waterways. Old, unused medications should be disposed of at a local pharmacy and NEVER flushed.
The TFN Utilities Team thanks you for your time and consideration regarding this reminder and we hope you are all keeping safe and healthy!
