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Best Practices

When you use your toilet, shower, washing machine or dishwasher, wastewater leaves your home or place of business through pipes that connect to a town sewer system. Many materials frequently flushed or poured down the drain can harm the pipes that connect to the sanitary sewers as well as the sewage treatment plant. Every property owner connected to the sanitary sewer system can be a potential contributor to sewer problems and a potential victim of those problems as well.

Putting the wrong things down the drain can damage the sewer system, cause sewer backups in your home or place of business, and sewer releases to the environment. Anyone who uses the sanitary sewer system should be responsible for what they flush or pour down drains.

Basically, the only things you should ever flush down a toilet are human waste (urine and feces) and toilet paper. Even though some products such as wipes and baby diapers claim to be flushable, they aren't. Here is a list of some things to keep out of the toilet. Non-hazardous materials should be disposed as trash and household hazardous materials should be brought to the Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility at the Town’s Recycling Center. For more information visit: http://www.huntingtonny.gov/STOP 

  • disposable diapers
  • tampons and tampon applicators
  • sanitary napkins
  • cotton balls and swabs
  • mini or maxi pads
  • condoms
  • cleaning wipes of any kind
  • bandages and bandage wrappings
  • automotive fluids
  • paint, solvents, sealants and thinners
  • poisons and hazardous waste
  • pet poop

Unused Medications:

Do not flush unused medications down the toilet. You can safely dispose of medications in the garbage, or take medications to an approved prescription drug take-back site or event. For more information on proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals visit:  http://www.huntingtonny.gov/MedicineDisposal

Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG):

Grease in sewer pipes causes sewer maintenance problems for property owners and the town. Never pour grease in your sink drain. Restaurant owners are reminded to have their grease traps pumped out every six months at a minimum. Town Code requires that restaurants maintain their grease disposal records for one year after the date of disposal.


Your attention to these “best practices” will result in less sewer backups, lower repair costs, and fewer sanitary sewer overflows to the environment.