Epic Sewer Clogs
Imagine a clog so big it would take a crane to lift it, or weeks of high-pressure washing to make it budge. Super gross, right? But around the world sewer-blocking clogs, known as “fatbergs” or “turkeys,” are forming from fat, hair, hygiene products and… you can guess what else.
Here are a few of the world’s most epic (and disgusting) clogs.
CLOG 1: BIG AS A BUS
Weighing in at a stomach-churning 15 tonnes (33,070-pound), the granddaddy of all fatbergs was found in Kingston, in the greater London area. As big as a double-decker bus and only found after residents couldn’t flush their toilets, it was a nightmare caused by residents flushing all kinds of unflushable items. It took 10 nights of high-pressure washing to remove the granddaddy of all fatbergs (so far).
CLOG 2: TENNIS, ANYONE?
Proving that just because you can flush something down the toilet doesn’t mean you should, a 10-tonne (22,040-pound) fatberg pulled from a sewer line in West London included wet wipes, wooden planks and even tennis balls. The clog measured 131 feet, as long as a Boeing 747, and caused £400,000 (about $564,700) in damages.
CLOG 3: SEWERS BACK UP DOWN UNDER
It took a crane four hours to extract a 1-tonne (2,200-pound) fatberg from the Eleebana sewage pumping station near Newcastle, Australia. Hanging from the crane’s hook, the fatberg looks like the single worst catch of all time. And in nearby Sydney, more than 1,000 tonnes (1,102 US tons) of disposable wipe “balls” have been removed from the sewer system since 2012.
Fortunately for most of us, if we just follow a few basic tips for keeping our drains clear and avoid putting anything silly down the drain, we’re in the clear. But if you do have a normal, household clog, you can always use Liquid Plumr® Clog Destroyer Plus+ Foaming Clog Fighter™ to dissolve clogs within an hour.
(But if you make your own fatbergs, you’re on your own.)
(DIS)HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Between 2010 and 2015, New York spent $18 million on equipment problems from huge sewer clogs caused by disposable wipes. And because they now encounter at least one “turkey” blockage a week, sewer agencies in Washington have had to install grinders to protect pumps from baby wipes, dental floss and other non-flushable items
