MOUNT DORA, Fla. -- Mount Dora workers say mysterious materials have recently starting clogging the city's sewage system.

With the coronavirus pandemic and a run on toilet paper, people are apparently turning to alternatives.

In Mount Dora, workers have been routinely clearing clogs that include latex gloves and sanitary wipes.

The city is up to a ton per week of debris coming out of one sewer facility, twice as much as normal. Officials say residents have flushed wipes down the toilet by an extra ¼ pound per week -- and there are about 5,000 homes into Mount Dora's sewage system.

The city says no homeowners are experiencing any direct issues at this time, but if the clogs get worse and the city can’t keep up, sewage could backup into people’s homes.  

One brand of the kind of wipes that workers have been finding is Cottonelle: Its label specifically calls them flushable wipes. But several online reports recommend that you don't flush them down the toilet. Consumer Reports says reviewers even ran some through a mixer, and the wipes did not break apart.

Resident Sarah Classon says she feels misled after reading the packaging.

“If it's tested by plumbers, and they say it's flushable, then therefore I would assume that this product is able to be flushed," Classon said.

For its part, Cottonelle maker Kimberly-Clark disputes claims that its wipes aren't flushable. The company says it's put them through extensive testing and maintains that the wipes are designed to start to break down soon after flushing and won't clog sewer lines or septic systems.

If you run out of toilet paper, Mount Dora officials tell us paper towels or tissues are better than sanitary wipes.

EDIT: This article was amended April 10, 2020 to add a response from Kimberly-Clark about Cottonelle. The company responded via an emailed statement.