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Field guide for Burlington owners

Drain No-Gos for Burlington Homes

Most household clogs and many sewer backups start with something that went down a drain because it seemed harmless. A short list of habits keeps your pipes, and Halton's sewers, running freely.

  • Steps you can safely take yourself
  • What it looks like in Burlington houses
  • When to put the wrench down and phone us
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The short answer

Toilets are built for human waste and toilet paper, nothing else. Kitchen sinks handle water, soap and the small food particles that pass a strainer. Almost everything else, including products labelled flushable, is better placed in the garbage, the green cart or a pharmacy take-back bin.

Key point

Most household clogs and many sewer backups start with something that went down a drain because it seemed harmless.

Step by step: the toilet

  • Wipes of every kind. Baby wipes, cleaning wipes and so-called flushable wipes do not break apart the way toilet paper does. They snag on joints, roots and pumps, and they gather into ropes in sewer mains.
  • Paper towels and tissues. Both are made to stay strong when wet.
  • Floss, cotton swabs and hair. Small but persistent, they tangle with everything else.
  • Feminine hygiene products and diapers. These swell and lodge in the trap or lateral.
  • Medications. Return unused prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs to a pharmacy for safe disposal instead.
  • Cat litter, including types sold as flushable, which can set like clay in a drain line.

Have this ready when you call

  • Which fixture, which floor
  • Whether the main is closed
  • Rough age of the house and heater
  • Any past floods or drain work

Step by step: the kitchen sink

  • Fats, oils and grease. Liquid when hot, they cool and harden on pipe walls. Pour cooled grease into a container and dispose of it with your organics or garbage, according to local waste guidance.
  • Coffee grounds and eggshells. They behave like sand in a drain, even with a garburator.
  • Rice, pasta and potato peels. Starches swell and turn to paste.
  • Fibrous scraps, like celery strings, corn husks or onion peel, which wrap around garburator blades.
  • Paint, solvents and chemicals, which should go to a Halton hazardous waste drop-off.
A habit that helps: keep a small lidded jar by the stove for grease and a basket strainer in every sink. Together they prevent more kitchen calls than any drain product sold in a store.

First move in a leak

Close the main shut-off, open a low tap to drain pressure, then call (365) 464-5184.

The moment to phone us

Phone us if a toilet keeps plugging despite careful use, if water rises in a floor drain when you run the washer, or if more than one fixture drains slowly at the same time. Those signs suggest a blockage beyond the trap, possibly in the main line. Our pages on drain cleaning, kitchen drain cleaning and toilet repair explain what we do in each case. If something valuable has gone down a toilet, stop flushing; it may still be in the trap.

Burlington specifics

Halton Region operates the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment plants that serve Burlington, and wipes and grease are a recurring cause of blockages in the public system and at pumping stations. A blockage in a municipal main can push sewage back toward the homes connected to it, so one street's habits affect everyone on it. Many older Burlington houses also have clay laterals with roots at the joints, where wipes catch quickly; our article on tree roots in sewers explains why.

Homes with a septic system, mostly in rural north Burlington, need even more care, since grease and wipes can disrupt the tank. See our septic and well guide. If your drains are already slowing, our guide on slow drain causes helps you work out where the problem sits.

Questions we hear

Are flushable wipes really unsafe to flush?

They pass through the toilet but do not break down quickly, so they catch in pipes, pumps and sewer mains. Put them in the garbage.

Is a little grease down the sink a problem?

Small amounts add up. Each time, a thin layer cools on the pipe wall, and over months that narrows the line.

Can a garburator handle anything?

No. Grease, coffee grounds, fibrous peels and bones still cause trouble even with a disposer in place.

Call now(365) 464-5184