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| 1. |
baby wipes |
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Baby wipes and sanitary towels are probably the single largest cause of drain blockages. They may be small and one would think that they will easily go down the drain. The problem is their strength.
If you hold a few sheets of good toilet paper under a running basin tap, you will find that the paper disappears between your fingers, completely breaks up and easily flows down the waste.
Baby wipes and sanitary towels do not break up even after many months. If a baby wipe gets hooked on a rough patch inside the drain, it will stay there while more and more waste keeps piling on behind it, until the drain is blocked. A good way of disposal is to wrap it in a nappy bag and put it in the bin. |
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| 2. |
bleach |
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It is best never to use bleach. The active ingredient in domestic bleach is sodium hypochlorite. This chemical kills most viruses and bacteria including the good bacteria.
Your drain is not only a pipe. It is an ecosystem and relies on various strains of bacteria to process waste. These are gram-positive bacteria and are harmless. During this process the waste is broken up and odours are removed leaving a clean drain without any bad smells. Sodium hypochlorite kills these bacteria. Normally the first bacteria that return to the drain are harmful gram-negative strains. These gram-negative bacteria are often the cause of smells.
Bleach should also never be mixed with anything containing ammonia, since chloramine gas can be produced from this combination. Urine contains ammonia, so bleach should not be used to clean urine spills. Chloramine gas is highly toxic.
For both the best and safest results, clean the toilet using lukewarm water with washing-up liquid. |
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