According to Stephen King, IT takes the form of what you fear most, and at NI Water, we fear wet wipes!
Pennywise the clown isn’t the only scary thing to ‘float’ around the sewers, and we have the evidence to prove it.
From videos of a wet wipe monster in Newtownabbey, photos of FOG (Fat, Oil and Grease) blocking a sewer on the Lisburn Road to boulders and a bucket found on the Shankill Road, we have seen it all!
Gavin McCready, wastewater manager for Belfast comments: “It doesn’t need to be Halloween for us to be afraid of what we find down there, everything from children’s bikes to thousands of rags.
“People are under the impression the wet wipes are ok to flush, whether it’s facial, baby or toilet. The fact is they are not; even if they say flushable!
“Unlike toilet paper, these wipes hold a certain amount of water and do not break down quick enough to avoid causing a blockage.
“The same goes for FOG, instead of pouring it down the sink (this includes rinsing off cooking trays) scrape it into the bin or into a bottle for recycling.
“All we ask is that people are more responsible with the disposal of their bathroom and food waste; the next blockage could be in your home, and that would be scary!”
So ‘creep’ it real and stop flushing wipes!
