The clocks have gone back, we’ve celebrated Bonfire Night and Diwali, and the dark nights are setting in for another year. 

This means more time at home and more cooking of those hearty meals and Severn Trent wants to remind everyone to be mindful of what they are putting down their sinks. 

With Unblocktober wrapped up for another year, the water company wants everyone to keep in their minds the ‘Be a binner, not a blocker’ message as this is something that is important all year round, especially with the winter months upon us. 

Customers are being asked to continue to think about what they are putting down their sinks and toilets because if they don’t, they can cause nasty issues for customers including sewage flooding back into their homes. 

Grant Mitchell, Blockages Lead for Severn Trent said: “Unblocktober may have come to an end for 2024, but the message remains to bin everything that shouldn’t be put down the sink or flushed down the toilet. 

“With the gloomy weather here and winter setting in, more time will be spent at home. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be enjoying warming soups and roast dinners laden with gravy! But with that comes more fats, oils and greases being produced and we need everyone to still be mindful of how they are being disposed of. 

“I always make sure that anything on pots and pans is scraped into the bin before being washed up and any oil is filtered into a container and thrown away and we hope everyone does the same. 

“The more we work together to prevent fats, oils and greases going down the sink or unflushable items being flushed down the toilet, the more blockages that we stop, which will mean they won’t potentially cause nasty and costly flooding for customers.” 

Severn Trent managed to clear a shocking 28,782 blockages last year alone which could’ve been avoided if incorrect items were not put down the toilet and sink.

One of the biggest issues that causes blockages is wet wipes, even those that say ‘flushable’, ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’ on the packaging don’t all break down like toilet paper, as well as kitchen roll, cotton buds, nappies and sanitary products.  

When all these are congealed together with fats, oils and greases, they create fatbergs. That’s why everyone is being asked to bin everything that should not be flushed down the loo or poured down the sink.  

Around two and a half tonnes of wipes and other items which shouldn’t be put down the toilet are pulled out of our sewers, while recent Severn Trent announced that 14 million litres of fats, oil and greases (FOG) successfully cleared from sewers, saving customers unnecessary and potentially costly issues, which is the equivalent of SIX Olympic size swimming pools of FOG.   

For advice about blockages visit www.stwater.co.uk/avoidblockages. Anyone who has a problem, either with slow drains or a blocked sewer, can be reported here or by calling 0800 783 4444.