City of Arcadia, Wisconsin

Some things just don't belong in the toilet....toilets are meant for one activity and you know what we are talking about. What you flush matters! Even if it's small, even if it says "flushable" on the package, some everyday items are not meant to be flushed and can cause big, messy and expensive problems for your plumbing and our wastewater treatment facilities.

Products that seem safe to flush down the toilet such as paper towels, personal care wipes or dental floss, don't dissolve in water. Disposable does not mean flushable!! If one of these items would happen to get caught or stuck in a bend or a nick on the pipe, it can cause a buildup that could cause a backup of raw sewage into your home or your neighbor's home. Sewer overflows are a time consuming, expensive, unpleasant mess to deal with. These sewer overflows are often the responsibility of the homeowner. A reminder that homeowner's are responsible for their sewer lateral (the sewer pipe that connects their property to the city's sewer main) and all the interior plumbing. You plug it, you pay for it!

What NOT to Flush

Any Pre moistened wipes

Baby wipes and diapers

Bandages or dressings

Cotton ball or swabs

Wrappers

Feminine hygiene products

Facial tissues

Medications or supplements (unused or expired)

Cleaners or disinfectants

Cigarette butts

Dental floss

Hair

Paper towels

Dust, dirt or lint

Disposable toilet brushes

Cleaning sponges

Kitty litter or aquarium gravel

And there's more....

Some household items should not be flushed because they DO break down in water. Whatever ends up in your toilet or down your drain travels through our wastewater treatment facility and can potentially impact the environment and aquatic life in and around the Trempealeau River (where after the wastewater treatment process your wastewater is discharged). So it is really important to keep household items such as medications, supplements, disinfectants and household cleaners out of the sewer systems. Such items would include paint, nail polish remover, window cleaners, unused or expired pharmaceutical products, paint thinners. Dispose of these products properly whether it be in the trash, at a local drug take back site or a local hazardous waste site. 

Any questions, please contact the Arcadia Water & Wastewater Utility at 608-323-3452.

Resources:

http://encyclopedia.toiletpaperworld.com/toilet-paper-facts/toilet-paper-quick-facts

http://www.charmin.com/charmin-toilet-paper-history.aspx

http://family.go.com

www.life123.com

Green Bay Press Gazette - Wipes, diapers cause headaches in wastewater treatment plant

Stevens Point Journal - The Things People Flush Can Cause Problems

Fun Toilet Facts

• You have a 1 in 10,000 chance of being injured by a toilet.
• There are more toilets flushed in the U.S. during the Super Bowl half-time show than any other half hour of the year.
• 72.4% of people place their toilet paper to be pulled over the roll, rather than under
• The first toilet paper was invented in 1880, but it didn't come on a roll, instead it came as a box. Scott toilet paper has been around over a hundred years and the company developed its toilet paper on a roll in 1890.
• In 1928, Charmin was manufactured by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The design was described as "charming" by an employee, and the Charmin brand name was born (pronounced "shar-min"). The Charmin name and logo were officially registered by Hoberg Paper. Charmin was designed to look like feminine fashions of the day.
• There are 35 bathrooms in the White House, none of them being public restrooms.
• The Pentagon uses about 666 rolls of toilet paper per day.
• People around the world call the toilet lots of different names including: loo (British), powder room, lavatory, outhouse, washroom, dunny (Australian), bog (British English), khazi (UK), garderobe (Medieval), privy, cloakroom, latrine, water closet, john and throne's room just to name a few.
• The average person will spend approximately 3 years of their life on the "privy".
• Arthur Giblin invented the first effective flushable toilet. He sold his patent to Thomas Crapper who was the first one to market it to the masses.