The Do’s & Don’t of Flushing

Everyone minus your two year old knows not to flush a toy or your pet down the toilet.  What most of you do not know is a majority of the item you are commonly flushing, are doing damage to not only your toilet but your pipes and water system.  Just because a item might flush with ease, does not mean there is not a bigger problem occurring deep in your pipes where you won’t notice until things go awry.  The best way to increase the longevity of your toilet and avoid annoying plumbing issues is to keep all extra waste out.  The following items will do more harm than good if flushed down your toilet, so maybe its time for some new rules around your home – the “NO FLUSH” list.

Flushable” Bath/Baby Wipes

It is like these companies are setting you up for failure.  Wipes simply do not disintegrate in water as quickly as toilet paper does.  You can test it yourself.  Put a “flushable” wipe and a piece of toilet paper in water for an hour and you will see the toilet paper break apart much faster while the wipe stays intact and can lodge in sewer pipes.  The same principle applies to for paper towels.

Disposable Diapers

You are in a rush and need a quick way to dispose of that diaper.  Flushing down the toilet is not the answer.  You might be able to get the diaper down after a couple of flushes but these non-biodegradable diapers are here to stay and cause a fierce clog to your system.

Cat Litter

A simple no. Nothing is worse for a sewer pipe than clay plus sand.  To make matters worse, the toxins in your cats litter are not good for mixing with the water system and environment.

Dental Floss

No one thinks such a small and harmless string can affect your pipe system but dental floss is not biodegradable.  It can easily get tangled and wrap itself around pipes, thus contributing to a clog.

Hair

Now we are talking about one of the very worst things to flush.  Try getting a hairball through your pipes and expecting other items to go past it.

Prescription Medications

Every medicine, no matter the dose is full of toxins that can cause damage to the environment and infect the water system with chemicals.  If you do not have a medical disposal facility near your home, the FDA recommends mixing the drugs with cat litter or coffee grounds and throwing them into the garbage.

The list continues but the best way to know what you can flush is to remember the “Three things,” — “number one, number two and toilet paper.”