Too-tough toilet tissue costs millions a year

Modern high-strength toilet tissues are costing our customers over £3 million a year in blocked drains.

"Modern high-strength toilet tissues are costing our customers over £3 million a year in blocked drains", says Jan Mitman, Director of Drain Doctor Plumbing, the national emergency repair service.

"The dense structure of some newly launched brands of tissue and 'wet wipes' means they take longer to disintegrate in drains, causing costly blockages.

"Tests reveal that different brands of toilet tissue can take from three minutes to five days to disintegrate after being flushed away," said Mrs Mitman.

"Many households had guests to stay over Christmas, carrying the potential for the New Year to become a festering season with a bumper crop of drain blockages." As most shoppers know, supermarket own-brand toilet tissue is the fastest to disintegrate, taking as little as three minutes.

Extra-strength brands can take from 15 to 25 minutes while 'wet wipe' varieties can survive for up to five days.

"Research among our nationwide team of technicians indicates that excessive use of high-strength tissues is responsible for a 10 per cent increase in the number of emergency calls to clear drain blockages, costing UK households over £3 million per year," said Mrs Mitman.

"There was a similar increase in blockages a couple of years ago, following which one brand famously changed its specification for the UK market." Drain Doctor Plumbing is, as always, maintaining its regular 24-hour service throughout the New Year holiday period with free, no obligation call-out and no price increase for working unsocial hours.

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