VPS Plumbing are called out for all kinds of plumbing issues, include boiler repairs, installation of taps and burst pipes. But one thing that they might be doing more of in the future is unblocking toilets, after research has shown that the people of Lancashire have spent £13 million pounds having toilets unblocked because of throwing the wrong things done it.
Water company United Utilities have produced a hilarious video, you can’t flush this, to highlight what you should and should not flush. Here’s the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-FB46km7bo&feature=youtu.be . It is a spoof of the hit song Can’t Touch This.
1 in 10 of the 1.18 million adults in Lancashire have paid an average of £99 for a plumber like VPS to unblock their toilet, after flushing away items such as baby wipes, cotton buds and make up wipes.
Toilet wipes are the biggest cause of blockages. 75% of people think it is ok to flush them down the toilet, when you shouldn’t, although only 42% of people have.
There are only 3 things that can be flushed safely down the toilet according to United Utilities, pee, poo and toilet paper. If you flush anything else, you could be left with a big plumbing bill and environmental damage. Just because something is labelled flushable, like lots of cleaning wipes now are, doesn’t mean it is. It could get stuck further down the pipe where you won’t see it.
80% of people in Lancashire think it is ok to dispose of something labelled flushable down the toilet. However these items don’t break down like toilet paper does. Flushing away these items contribute towards over 50,000 call outs to plumbers every year, which costs approximately 20 million pounds in total.
