Paper Towels Clog Trotter Pipes

February 16, 2009

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.

From Wednesday to Friday of last week, the Trotter bathrooms were shut down because of a blocked sewer line, costing the college thousands in maintenance. The culprit? Paper towels that should never have been flushed.

Director of Facilities Stu Hain wrote the Gazette in an e-mail: “That line is in the lawn and under sidewalks between Trotter and Beardsley where all the digging has been happening… we tried to clear the blockage with a special pressurized water injector the Borough of Swarthmore loaned us. That did not work leading us to believe the old pipe (probably as old as Trotter) collapsed.”

Sample advertisement

Ralph Thayer, Director of Maintenance, reported that his team managed to clear the blockage on Friday when they found “Paper towels piling up at a poorly configured tie in to a sewer main… not a material that we expect to find in waste lines.”

Thayer continued, “Our conjecture is that the more squeamish among us may line the seat of the toilets and either purposely or inadvertently flush the paper towels along with the expected waste. Having a contracted crew of three dig for two days is clearly not in concert with the austerity measures that have been imposed at the College. Paper towels should never be flushed down toilets. In this case they have cost us thousands of dollars.”

2 Comments Leave a Reply

  1. Why would you line the toilet with paper towels when toilet paper works just fine? Maybe someone put something really gross on paper towels and didn't want to throw it out in the regular trash can, so they flushed it instead. ?

  2. oh uppercase J. Ye of so much faith. They may tell you that it's paper towels causing the problem, but search your soul: does that really make much sense to you? Doesn't a conspiracy involving reptilian humanoids ring more true?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Story

College Corner with Elise G. ’09, Student Activities Intern

Next Story

An Admission to Women

Latest from Sports

Athlete of the Week: Lauren Lior ’27

Swarthmore women’s soccer forward Lauren Lior ’27 hails from Fairfield, CT, and is a graduate of Greens Farms Academy. During her first year with the Garnet, she had a stellar season, breaking into the starting lineup, and cementing herself as an integral

WSOC Day in the Life: Away Game vs. Muhlenberg College

As we head into the middle of the fall semester, Swarthmore’s sports schedules will become increasingly busy. While exams and paper deadlines approach quickly, varsity athletic teams plunge into the middle of conference play, when the significance of winning is the most

Swinging Through the Glass Ceiling 

The Swarthmore men’s golf team has welcomed numerous women as walk-on players over the years. Currently there are two female players competing on the men’s team: Ava Chon ’26 and Bori Chung ’28. Chon is a senior from Princeton, NJ, who went

Athlete of the Week: Melissa Eyer ’28

Melissa Eyer '28 runs the volleyball court with her elite ball control and defensive capabilities. Read on to hear more about her fourth Centennial Athlete of the Week selection!
Previous Story

College Corner with Elise G. ’09, Student Activities Intern

Next Story

An Admission to Women

The Phoenix

Don't Miss