Some people think that toilet is as some kind of “an alternate garbage disposal system”, but actually, many of the items people commonly trust to dispose of with a toilet flush can cause significant plumbing problems. Below is a list of some of these items and why you shouldn’t put them in your toilet:
- Wipes (all types), Tampons and sanitary supplies, Condoms,Hair
The problem with these is that they create clogs and backups in sewer systems despite being marketed as flushable like toilet paper. The issue is being looked into further as some say the wipes don’t degrade after flushing causing headaches for sewer systems, which can add up to big bills to fix.
- Medications
In addition, don’t flush old medicine down the toilet. This is actually an extremely dangerous action to take as the medications can destroy good bacteria in the sewer system, contaminate water supplies. They can cause harm to the environment and aquatic wildlife. Most pharmacies will accept these expired products and dispose of them properly for you.
- Cotton Balls & Swabs
Although small and soft, these common staples in most bathrooms don’t break down in water the way most might think they would. The cotton in these items becomes soggy and heavy, often causing them to gather in bends of pipes, causing massive blockages.
- Cigarette Butts
There’s lots of conversation about the dangers of smoking cigarettes and what it can do to the body, but that doesn’t seem to get some to reconsider putting their cigarette butts down the toilet. The chemicals in the flushed cigarette butts are incredibly toxic and can contaminate the water supply which is not good for people or wildlife.
- Dental Floss
Despite being small and string-like, dental floss is not biodegradable and once flushed loves to wrap around other objects in pipes and the sewer system, making tiny clogs a much bigger problem very quickly.
- Cooking Fats
Almost everyone has probably done this one at some point, but cooking fats should never go down the drain or in a toilet. Although in liquid form when poured down, once given the chance to cool, fats, oils and grease become pipe-clogging wax. These items are best to go in the garbage can.
- Cat Litter
This one might seem like it’s not that bad – it’s the same as other items meant for the toilet, right? Wrong. Cat litter is made from clay and sand, which should never be put down the toilet as they’ll cause major blockages. Another harmful effect of putting cat litter down the toilet is that the waste contains toxins and parasites that will contaminate the water supply.
We hope this information was useful for you, Rooter Team
