Chapter 23
Housekeeping and Use of Domestic Facilities on Shabbath and Yom Tov.
HYGIENE
10.a. Where rainwater is unable to flow away, because of a blockage in a gutter or drainage pipe, and is causing a flood, one may clear the stoppage with the assistance of an article which is not muktzeh.
10.b. However, where a yard is flooded by rainwater, one may neither
1) dig a channel through which the water could flow away nor
2) clear an existing channel which has become filled with earth or debris.
11. A domestic rubber plunger (but not the larger variety used by professional plumbers) may be employed to unblock a clogged sink or toilet bowl, if there is an important need for it.
12. A domestic garbage bin may be emptied if
a. it gives off a smell which it is difficult to bear or
b. it is full and one has nowhere else to dispose of the rubbish which has collected in the house.
