10 Things You Shouldn’t Flush down The Toilet
Are you guilty of using the toilet as a trashcan?
We all use the toilet every day. And not just for human waste. From studies, people use the toilet for trash disposal. You couldn’t imagine the things that have to be cleared out of toilets; from cell phones and credit cards to children’s toys and crumpled-up paper, plumbers have seen it all.
We know, it is tempting to flush nearly anything down the toilet. It’s like a black hole; just dump, flush, and it’s gone – out of sight out of mind. To do this, however, is to risk damaging septic tanks, as well as causing toxic environmental pollution and the embarrassment that comes with your plumber finding the cause of the problem. People don’t think about this until one day they have a huge clog or septic tank problem and have to spend lots of money to fix it.
What NOT to Flush Down the Toilet
To help you save embarrassment, thousands of Naira worth of plumbing repairs, and avoid polluting the environment, pay attention to this list of things that you must never, EVER, flush down the toilet:
1. Sanitary Pads/Feminine Products
We are often wary of the superstitious use of our disposed sanitary pads and tampons but sanitary pads and other feminine hygiene products are not supposed to be flushed down the toilet. You will have to pay your plumber soon if you keep stuffing the pads down the toilet.
2. Cooking Grease/Oil
Grease should never be poured down any drain, period. It may look like a liquid that can easily be dumped down a drain, but when it cools, it will congeal and clog up your pipes. Collect your grease in a glass jar and throw it in the trash, or save the grease and reuse it, especially bacon grease…mmmm.
3. Wipes/Cleaning Pads
Even when they’re advertised as “flushable,” most moist towelettes should never go down the toilet. The wipes don’t disintegrate in water, leading to clogs and backed-up sewer lines. There are groups that are revising the guidelines, so soon all wet wipes will have a noticeable DO NOT FLUSH symbol on the packaging. If you must use these, throw them away in the trash can. Keep one close to the toilet. Flushing wet wipes can easily turn into an expensive mistake when you have to call a plumber to snake your toilet.
4. Dental Floss
After completing your dentist-recommended daily flossing, don’t drop the used piece in the commode. Long strands of waxed or unwaxed floss can wrap around other items in the drainage system, quickly turning a little string into a big headache for a plumber. Plus, dental floss isn’t biodegradable.
5. Q-tips/Cotton Balls
After you’ve cleaned your ears or dabbed away errant streaks of eyeliner, dropping your used cotton swab in the toilet may seem convenient. Resist the urge! You might think that cotton will break down, like high-quality toilet paper made from virgin pulp, but they don’t! They will clump together, causing stoppages at bends in the pipes.
6. Diapers
Just because there is human waste inside does not make it OK to flush. Diapers are made to expand in water. In the unlikely case you actually get the diaper to flush, it will likely get caught in the U-bend of the pipe. Now you’re looking for your plumber’s number again!
7. Pills
It is a good idea to put pills out of harm’s way, but you are probably doing more harm than good by flushing them. They have toxic effects on groundwater supplies and wildlife.
8. Paper Towels/Tissues
Paper towels are fast replacing clothes and rags because they are more hygienic. When you do use them, please throw them in the trash, not the toilet. Paper towels are not made to dissolve like toilet paper; throw them in the trash.
9. Cigarette Butts
What a waste of water! Each flush uses more water than regular flush. They look gross floating in the water and they are full of toxic chemicals that end up going straight into the groundwater supply. If you have to smoke, throw the butts away properly. Learn how to clean cigarette butts here.
10. Low Quality/Inferior Toilet Paper
The only solid material safe to be flushed down the toilet is paper tissue. That is assuming you use a high-quality septic-safe tissue like the ones we produce.
Just any regular toilet paper can sometimes be very hard to break down. A courtesy flush is sometimes necessary to avoid clogging the drain. We recommend you use only quality toilet paper like Rose Carla Improved, Rose Belle Tissue, Rose Plus Tissue, Rose Family. Check our product page for more options for quality toilet paper to pick from.
Conclusion
What does that leave? Not much! Human excrement and quality septic-safe toilet paper are the only things you should flush down your toilet.
You think that you are saving water or money by stuffing as much waste into the toilet before flushing. Having a plumber drive to your house to fix an expensive repair is much worse, for your wallet and the environment. Soft, quality septic-safe toilet paper is best.
What is the weirdest thing you’ve flushed down the drain?
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