Your Toilet Is Not a Garbage Can — What You Flush Matters!

When you use your toilet, wastewater leaves your home or business and connects to the City of Hillsboro's public sanitary sewer system.

To maintain the system for use by everyone, the City asks all community members to flush only the three P's (Pee, Poo, and Toilet Paper) in your toilet. Unfortunately, a number of things are being flushed down the toilet that can seriously damage the public sanitary sewer system and the wastewater treatment plant processes.

Below are common household items that if flushed, can lead to clogged pipes, wastewater overflow, and costly repairs. Instead of flushing, dispose of all these items in the trash.

1. Flushable Wipes: Don't be fooled by labels - even if the wipes say "flushable," they will not dissolve and end up clogging pipes. Dispose all wipes into the trash.
   
2. Maxi Pads, Tampon Applicators, and Diapers: These products are developed to absorb water, not dissolve. Be sure to discard in the trash.
   
3. Dental Floss: Waxed and woven dental floss is not biodegradable and can cause clogs by catching other debris. After flossing, toss in the trash.
   
   
4. Cotton Balls, Swabs, and Q-tips: These items do not breakdown and instead clump together causing clogs. Following use, throw away in the garbage.
   
5. Rags, Bandages, and Dressings: These materials often contain plastic or cloth material that are not biodegradable and will cause clogged pipes. After a wound heals, discard products in the garbage.
   
   
6. Paper Towels: Paper towels are not designed to break down in water like toilet paper.
   
   
7. Hair: Hair does not dissolve in water and will get tangled up in the pipes. When cleaning out your hairbrush and combs, toss hair in the trash.
   
   
8. Cat Litter and Dried Poop: Cat litter is made of clay and sand and should never be flushed down the toilet. Dried cat poop does not dissolve and can end up clogging pipes. Instead, bag it and throw it away.
   
   
9. Condoms: These latex items cause major problems for the toilet, septic systems, and sewage treatment plant. Be sure to discard in the trash.
   
   
10. Fats, Oils, and Grease: Never dump cooking fats or grease down any drain - when it cools, it hardens and clogs pipes. Instead, cool the grease and then trash it. Pick up a free grease kit at the City of Hillsboro Public Works Facility at 4415 NE 30th Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124, call to arrange pick-up, 503-615-6509.
    
    
11. Cigarette butts: These are not biodegradable and are filled with chemicals that pollute the environment. The only place to discard a cigarette is in the garbage and please be sure it is completely out.
    
    
12. Egg Shells: Putting egg shells down the disposal will create "sand-like particles" and/or stick to pipe walls. Over time, this will slow the pipes ability to drain and eventually contribute to a clogged pipe.
    
    
13. Coffee Grounds: Nothing causes more blockages and clogged pipes than coffee grounds and grease. Coffee grounds don't break down in water, in fact, they usually clump together.
    
    
14. Solvent or Oil Based Paints: Solvent and oil paints should never be poured down the drain. Paints may contain biocides, a type of pesticide that inhibits mold growth. Some types of paints, especially those that are used by artists, contain harmful metals, like lead and cadmium.

Keep your pipes in working condition by only disposing the three P's into your toilet. Using your toilet for any other use can result in expensive private and public sanitary sewer system maintenance and possible pollution of the Tualatin River. Remember, think before you flush!

For questions regarding a wastewater overflow, contact the City of Hillsboro Public Works Department at 503-615-6509 or email.