By the second week of the Covid-19 pandemic in Michigan, car manufacturing stopped, bars closed, restaurants went to takeout only, and even liquor stores saw their sales cut in half. But grocery stores and pharmacies are flourishing–and so is the plumbing business. According to the Roto-Rooter tech who recently cleared a west side drain, business almost doubled in the weeks after the shutdown. While folks have always tried flushing all sorts of stuff down their toilets, from dental floss to paper towels, with toilet paper in short supply they’re also flushing more of those supposedly “flushable wipes.”
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell offers a word of timely advice: “Even though a wipe says it’s biodegradable doesn’t mean it can be flushed down the toilet,” she warns in “Debbie’s Blog.” “With everyone home we have seen a spike in these being flushed down the toilet which will cause blockages in sump pumps and pipes that are on septic systems. During this time, let’s make sure we stick to the 3 P’s of what goes in your toilet: Pee, Poo and (toilet) Paper.”
