The public’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic may be having an adverse effect on your plumbing. As stores run out of toilet paper, many are resorting to using disinfecting wipes, and flushing them down the toilet. A spokesman with Illinois American Water Company says that can eventually cause clogs and damage to your sewer system.

Another issue, company spokesman Karen Cotton says, is more people pouring grease, fat or oil down the drain.

The company advises you to allow grease to cool and use a rubber scraper to remove the fat, oil and grease from cookware, plates, utensils and cooking surfaces. Then place the grease in a sealed container and dispose of it in the trash. And to install baskets/strainers in sink drains to catch food scraps and empty them into the trash.