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Keep drains clean: Fat is the enemy of the drain

Putting trash, food waste, and frying fat in the drain can cause an unwanted blockage in your home’s plumbing. Therefore grease or other waste should not be placed in the drain.

Grease blockage is one of the most common causes of sewer blockage. In the worst case the blockage can cause water damage. Blocked drain and food waste can also attract rats and cause an unpleasant odor nuisance.

Signs of a sewer blockage are, for example, a strange noise from the sewer, a rise in the water level often from the floor drain and the toilet, and an unpleasant odor.

If you notice that the drain is blocked and you cannot open it by yourself, report the fault via OmaSATO or contact the maintenance company directly.

You can flush down:

  • toilet bowl water: toilet paper and human waste
  • dish washing waters and laundry waters
  • water used for washing or cleaning
No fat or trash down the drain | SATO
The drain is not a garbage bin.

Please remember that the drain is not a garbage bin. Here is how you should sort your waste that does not belong to the drain.

Put into a biowaste container

  • solid and congealed grease
  • small amounts of liquid grease or oil absorbed into a paper
  • food waste​
  • fruit and vegetable peels and egg shells
  • tea bags or leaves and coffee grounds
  • plant soil
  • flushable toilet roll shells

Put into mixed waste container

  • liquid grease in a closed liquid carton/container/bottle
  • diapers, tampons and sanitary towels
  • cotton buds and cotton
  • litter and sand from pet cages
  • hair
  • cigarette stumps, condoms
  • fibre cloths and thick hand paper
  • freshen-up wipes and moist toilet tissue wipes
  • contact lenses
  • sand

Take to hazardous waste collection point

  • medication (take to a pharmacy)
  • paints, glue, varnish
  • solvents, such as Acetone, turpentine, Thinner
  • oil, grease
  • acids, such as battery acid, formic acid
  • alkali, such as alkaline detergents
  • pesticides.

How to take best care of my home? Read cleaning tips »

More information about the sewer etiquette you may find here »

Source: HSY (Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority)