We are all using Clorox wipes more now to protect us from COVID-19. With more people using these products and more people at home, this has created problems for our sewer systems.

The Metropolitan Sewer District responded to an overflow Tuesday morning in Hazelwood near Dunn and Interstate 270. This was due to products being flushed down the toilet that aren’t supposed to be.

An MSD spokesperson said the only flushable wipe is toilet paper. Paper towels and Kleenex cannot be flushed.

Even products that claim to be flushable wipes aren’t flushable. All of these things don’t dissolve properly and create blockages in the sewer system.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, MSD has had to respond to more than 10 sewer backups in north St. Louis County alone. When there is a backup, it creates an annoyance to the public, your community, and environmental issues as well.