Did you know that what you flush or pour down your drain can potentially harm your home’s plumbing, the sanitary sewer system and the environment? By following these tips, you can prevent costly repairs to wastewater pipes and protect the health of the community and local streams. 

• Properly disposing of household grease from meat fats, lard, baking goods, butter and margarine, cooking oils, food scraps, sauces, and dairy products by collecting these substances in a container and throwing them in your garbage can.
• Fats, oils and grease can build up in pipes, preventing your wastewater from making its way through the sewer pipes to SD1’s treatment plant. When your wastewater is unable to move through the sewer pipes, raw sewage can back up into your home or hard or overflow into local streets and streams. 
• Throwing diapers, baby wipes and personal hygiene products in your garbage can. Do not flush these items down your toilet.
• Bulky items like diapers and hygiene products can also clog pipes, causing backups and overflows of sewage into streets, homes and streams. 
• Never flushing or pouring household chemicals like cleaners, medications, auto fluids, used motor oil, paint or lawn care products down a drain. Contact your county’s Solid Waste Coordinator or visit www.nkyhhw.org for information on how to properly dispose of these items. 
• Hazardous chemicals can cause significant damage to sewer pipes and diminish the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment process. Pesticides, solvents and other cleaning materials can corrode plumbing and release toxic fumes through the sewer system. In addition, chemicals and contaminants that are not removed from the wastewater during the treatment process will be released into locals streams along with the treated waste waster. 

*Information provided by Sanitation District One, www.sd1.org.