Quick answer
Never flush wet wipes — including ones sold as flushable — sanitary products, cotton buds, dental floss, kitchen fats, cooking oil, paper towels, nappies, condoms, medication or cat litter. These are the leading cause of household and municipal sewer blockages. Only three things should go down a toilet: human waste, toilet paper, and water. Everything else is a blockage waiting for a bad moment.
What you can do now
- 1Keep a small lidded bin in every bathroom so there is an easy alternative to flushing
- 2Ignore flushable labelling on wipes — they pass the toilet but do not break down in the line
- 3Wipe fat and oil out of pans with paper and bin it rather than rinsing it away
- 4Bin dental floss and cotton buds; both are excellent at binding other debris into a plug
- 5Return unused medication to a pharmacy rather than flushing it
- 6Tell guests and children directly — most blockages come from people who did not know
When to call a professional
If blockages keep recurring after you have eliminated all of these, the cause is structural rather than behavioural and needs a CCTV inspection. Repeat blockages in a household that flushes nothing unusual almost always mean roots, a bellied pipe, or a partial collapse — and continuing to pay for unblocking will not change that.
Typical cost in Johannesburg
Prevention is free
Indicative ranges only. We provide written, itemised quotes before any work.
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