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Tips to prevent blockages

Paper is okay, grease and wipes are not

People sometimes flush the strangest things down the toilet. Driver's licences, nappies, tampons, sanitary pads and even tools. Things that do not belong in the sewer. Did you know that you should also never flush wet toilet wipes? Read what you can and cannot flush down the toilet and learn how to prevent blockages.

What can you flush?

The 3 Ps are safe to flush:

  • Poo
  • Pee
  • (Toilet-)paper

Do not flush grease or wet wipes

When grease cools down, it gets hard. Grease that gets into the sewer sticks to the inside of the pipes. Each time grease enters, more grease will stick. Together with wet wipes, it becomes a large and solid mass. This causes blockages. This can happen in your own home, but also in sewer pipes and pumping stations. It can cause a great deal of inconvenience. Sometimes, we even have to replace the pumps in a pumping station as a result of this. 

Grease and wipes in the public sewer system are also bad for the environment. So please do not flush them down the toilet or sink. 


Do not flush this

Find out what not to throw in the toilet or sink. It goes without saying, but this list is much longer. Below, we list the items most commonly found in the sewer.

  • moist toilet paper and other wipes*
  • nappies
  • cooking oil and frying fat
  • condoms
  • nail
  • paint
  • tampons
  • medicine residues
  • sanitary napkins
  • chemical waste
  • solid food waste
  •  cat litter

*Does the packaging say you can flush the wipe down the toilet? Please do not.

Tips to prevent blockages

Wipe your pan with kitchen paper

SDo not rinse your pan under the tap after frying, roasting or grilling. Do not flush food remains down the toilet. Follow this step-by-step guide instead: 

  • Let the pan cool.
  • Wipe any leftover oil or grease from the pan with a paper towel. 
  • Throw the paper towel in the rubbish bin. 

Frying, roasting or grilling. Grab a paper towel! 

Recycle cooking oil or throw it in the bin

Frying fat may also not be flushed down the toilet or sink: 

  • Let grease or oil cool first. 
  • Then pour it back into the packaging. 
  • No longer have the container it came in? Then us an empty milk carton or a sturdy plastic bag, for example.

More and more supermarkets, schools, sports clubs and waste collection points have a yellow bin. You can recycle your grease or oil there. Find a drop-off point near you (in Dutch). (You are leaving this website) No drop-off points nearby? Then throw the packaging containing grease in the rubbish bin.

Always dispose of wet wipes in the bin

  • By wet wipes, we mean: moist toilet paper, baby wipes, cleaning wipes and make-up wipes.

Does the packaging state you can flush the wipe down the toilet? Please do not! Most wipes contain small plastic particles. Furthermore, wet wipes do not disintegrate easily. Together with grease, they form rock-hard lumps in the public sewer system. These wipes thus cause blockages, which makes them harmful to the environment and bad for your wallet.

Berrybot Berry, the digital assistent