Everyone knows that there are a few things that shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet. According to Handy, even though we know about most things that shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet, most of us are guilty of flushing down at least one of those. You don’t really think about it until you call the plumber and get slapped with an expensive bill. Here are a few things, you should never flush down the toilet:
The Items
- Condoms and menstrual products – Condoms are made from latex, polyisoprene, or polyurethane. They aren’t designed to be flushed down in the toilet since they don’t break down in the water. They can easily clog up your septic tanks or toilets.
The same goes for menstrual products like pads and tampons. Instead of breaking down in the water, they absorb water drastically. So, when you flush them down, they expand and can clog your plumbing system.
- Diapers – When menstrual products can’t be flushed down the toilet, diapers obviously aren’t any good. They are too big in the first place and absorb water, a lot of it. Even if you can get them down the toilet, they are going to get stuck in your piping and cause a disaster in your washroom. Repairs are also going to be very expensive if pipes burst and floors get water damaged.
- Baby Wipes – You may be confused by this one since there are numerous companies that make “flushable” baby wipes. However, the people who take care of the sewer system of your city and plumbing companies would disagree. Flushable wipes don’t disintegrate well and can cause expensive plumbing issues.
- Cotton products like pads, balls, and Q-tips – Cotton balls, pads, and Q-tips don’t disintegrate in the water and aren’t safe to flush down your toilet. They clump together and create blockages in the pipes that may cause severe health hazards, even if they don’t clog your pipes.
- Tissues and paper towels – You may think that like toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels are made from the same thing and must be safe to flush down the toilet. However, they aren’t designed to break down in the water like toilet paper. If you have to use tissues and paper towels instead of toilet paper, it is better to keep a wastebasket in the washroom.
- Hair and Cigarette butts – Hair form a net when you flush it down the toilet. It can easily get tangled and stuck to the smallest bolts and any other component in the pipeline. Moreover, it keeps floating in the water and won’t disintegrate for a long time.
Cigarette butts can also cause a severe problem of clogging in your toilet. Apart from that, they also release toxic chemicals into the water and flushing them is a huge waste of water that seems to be depleting every day.
Conclusion
Handy believes that you shouldn’t flush those things down the toilet and have a wastebasket in your washroom for good measure. You can also make a list of things that should go into the wastebasket instead of the toilet and paste it near the wastebasket where it is easily visible.