Cicero reminds residents: “No wipes down the pipes”

Photo provided

Please help the Town of Cicero keep your sewer rates as low as possible by remembering “No wipes down the pipes!” For the Town to unclog and/or replace pumps, it is very expensive to do so. Even if a product claims to be “flushable,” it likely is not. Below is a list of “flushable” items you should not flush down the pipes:

  • Diapers (including cloth, cotton, disposable, or plastic)
  • Flushable, disposable, cleaning, or baby wipes
  • Paper towels, cloth towels, or any type of rag
  • Feminine hygiene products
  • Facial tissues

Please place these items in a trash can. Putting these items down toilets may plug sewers and cause raw sewage backup into your home.

Above is a photo of a $6,000 to $10,000 sewer pump, like those in Cicero’s system that was installed two years ago, that should last up to 15 years. Unfortunately this pump has been destroyed from wipes and towels that are being flushed. Products that say they are “flushable” should not be flushed because they are hard on our sewer pumps too. For this to be repaired, it will cost up to $10,000 plus the labor it takes to replace or repair it. So please remember: “No wipes down the pipes!”