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Q & A

Householder Questions and Answers

Why do sewers need "cleaning up"? Sewers need "cleaning up" when the wrong things go down there, particularly "FOG".   You can't make them capable of handling everything so you should be careful what you put into them.
How can you pollute a sewer? "Pollute: to cause harm to an area … by introducing damaging substances such as chemicals or waste products".  [Encarta World English Dictionary]
As well as "FOG", there is a long list of "unnatural items" that should not go down the drain.  (See next item.)
What is "Household Sewer Pollution"? Household Sewer Pollution is a general term for the action of householders putting FOG, sanitary towels, nappies, cotton bud sticks, paint and other "unnatural waste" down the sink, toilet or gully trap.   Householders who put the wrong things in the sewers gunge them up, and occasionally cause a blockage.
Is there anything in it for me if I do things differently? "FOG" will cause blocked sinks that you have to pay a plumber to fix.   Mix your "FOG" with "unnatural items" from the toilet area and it's a worse mess.  If it causes a blocked sewer then the Local Authorities have to come and fix it.  The Local Authority takes rates from you to pay for fixing these problems. You pay, either way.
Is it worth the effort of doing things differently? Tree roots and subsidence are two main causes of drain blockages on your property.  Lime scale and rust in iron pipes are also causes.   All the other blockages are because of things that you put down there that you shouldn't have.

Just stopping the putting of "FOG" down the kitchen sink makes a big difference.  It means you'll almost certainly never block your sink and pay for a plumber to come ever again.

Stop putting the wrong things down the toilet and gully trap too and you won't block your drains, or contribute to a blockage in the sewer further down the road which floods someone else's place.   (And if the people up the road are nice and do the right things, too, then you won't have a flood, either.)
Do I have to spend money to do things differently? There is a small cost to use the sewers sensibly.   Only a bit.  You need to have a Fat Trap in your kitchen to put your Fat, Oil and Grease into instead of putting it down the sink.   This is a plastic tub with a screw cap that is purpose-made for the job, and heat-proof against hot oil.   You don't have to keep buying more of them when they fill because it is relatively easy to empty them into a waste jar and then clean.

For the Bathroom and Toilet and the Gully Traps there are simple steps you can take to handle each of the problem items.   In the toilet area, most items go straight into a bathroom bin (which you might have to buy).   The only expenses here are in buying sealable bags for nappies and the like, and transport costs in taking medicines and hypodermic needles to the chemist.   With the gully trap it will cost you to take chemicals and paint to the landfill.
I need education on how to use a sink and a toilet, do I? Frankly, we all need educating.  It's a British "tradition" to use the toilet as a "wet bin" and "flush your troubles away".   Most of us have been doing the wrong thing all our lives.

The thing is, there's never actually been any education before. You tend to think that if "authorities" don't say anything then that you're doing it right, but it isn't so.   The Local Authorities have knuckled under, just "gone with the flow", and handled all the problems for decades, at the expense of the public.

The big sticking point in educating people has been that there has never been a good solution to handling hot cooking fat and oil -- the "FOG".  Until the Fat Trap was invented there was no reliable container to store your FOG in.   Now that problem is solved, all the pollution items can be handled safely and it's time to stop Household Sewer Pollution for good.
Why should I be keen to learn about a sewer? When you get it wrong, it will cost you a plumber's bill to set it right.   And if you don't know why it happened, and don't change your ways, then you'll be getting another bill some day.

Learn now about Household Sewer Pollution, make sure you have your Fat Trap between the stove and the sink, and avoid the plumber's smile.

Here's more information

Household Sewer Pollution is explained here.

The Solutions to Pollutions are here.

Here is where Purchases of Fat Traps can be made.

Here are some Help, Myths and FAQs on the subject.

Was there anything else? Here is how to Contact Us for more information.