People stocking up on home essentials amid the Coronavirus has led to a shortage of household items like paper towels, toilet paper and wipes. And many are forced to use and flush what's available which the city says is causing clogged toilets.
Many of us are making an effort to clean and sanitize the surfaces we touch; from counter tops and faucets to doorknobs and levers.
The problem is that people are tossing disinfectant wipes, baby wipes and paper towels into the toilet.
“The other types of flushable wipes, Kleenex and wipes, they don’t dissolve the same way as toilet paper," said Gabriel Ramirez, assistant director of water quality and treatment.
Ramirez says sewage systems and toilets across the country are backing up as more and more people clean their homes with disinfectant wipes and use the toilet to dispose of them.
To add to that, people are resorting to using paper towels, napkins and baby wipes as they cope with the lack of toilet paper.
“It could cause big clumps in the system and could cause clogs in the waste water collection system,” said Ramirez.
Which could become a public health issue.
"It would be pushed back to where it came from or any drains back so it could come up toilets," said Ramirez.
So, to avoid one more issue on top of the growing concerns for the corona virus or just prevent your waste from coming back up the toilet, Ramirez says don’t flush anything down the toilet unless it’s toilet paper.