Do not dump cooking grease and oils down sinks or toilets. This practice will cause house laterals and sanitary sewer mains to develop a build up and eventually cause a stoppage. Also, female sanitary products and disposable diapers should not be flushed. They should be securely wrapped and placed in a trash receptacle

Pour water in floor drains and sinks on a regular basis to keep traps full of water. This will help to prevent foul sewer odors from entering your home.

Make sure that you run gutters and downspouts about 10 feet away from your house to eliminate surface water running into your basement and foundation walls.

If you have trees in your front yard or between the walk and curb, you may need to set up a preventive maintenance program with a sewer and drain cleaner or plumber to assure that roots won't cause a stoppage in your lateral.

Catch basins and inlet drips are not trash receptacles. We need to encourage everyone to keep them clean so they can effectively convey storm water to the rivers and streams.

• When you experience a sewer problem, either sanitary or storm, call our emergency number. An experienced crew will respond and diagnose the problem and give further instruction on what needs to be done. This service is available to all City of Dayton residents at no charge.