Your toilet is one of the most necessary home appliances that need to be in working order all the time. A toilet is made to handle two kinds of things. One is your bodily excretions, and the other is toilet paper. And things can get messed up if you use it as a mini garbage disposal. You can’t flush anything else down the toilet, but not a lot of people tend to remember that. Most of the time, children can throw away stuff inside the toilet bowl and try to flush it. That makes things way too messy, to say the least. This can easily clog your toilets and make a huge mess inside. Not only that, it can lead to some serious plumbing issues that’ll need immediate attention from toilet repair service providers.
Toilet repairs take a huge chunk of your time and money, and that’s not all. In this article, we’ll discuss the seven common items that people tend to flush down the toilet and cause problems with the water treatment plans and how you should dispose of them properly.
Items That You Should Stop FLushing Down The Toilet Now
A lot of people treat their toilet bowls as a mini garbage disposal unit and use it that way as well. They tend to flush down all sorts of things that shouldn’t be there in the first place. For our toilets, there is a simple rule we can apply to understand what to flush down and what not to. The rule is called The Three P’s. They’re Pee, poop, and paper. These three are the only things that should be in the toilet and nothing else. Let’s talk about the seven common items people tend to flush down the toilet no matter the case and how you can save money from toilet repair bills.
1. Paper Towels
One of the most common items that get flushed down a toilet is paper towels, and they’re just as unsafe as the next item. However, there are some misconceptions about paper towels. Paper towels should fall in the Three P’s rule as they’re actually paper, but that’s not the case by a long shot. Paper towels look and may even feel like toilet paper, but they’re completely different since they are made differently as well. Toilet paper is designed to break down within water, but paper towels are a different story. They’re not designed to be broken down inside the toilet bowl and will cause clogging. And soon enough, you’ll be needing toilet repair services along the way. So, you shouldn’t flush down paper towels.
2. Wet Wipes
Wet wipes and baby wipes are soft and gentle to be used. But they are not safe to be flushed down the toilets. These items are one of the most common items people tend to flush down in hopes that they’re okay to do so. But they don’t break down like toilet paper, and you might need toilet repair services. That’s why don’t make a bad habit out of flushing down wet wipes,
3. Condoms
Aside from being disgusting, condoms are responsible for making a huge mess inside a plumbing system. And they tend to end up in waterways, making things even grosser. A lot of water treatment specialists find themselves in such situations to clean up condoms in the plumbing system. So, make sure to do your part and dispose of them properly in a garbage can instead of flushing them down in the toilet.
4. Feminine Product
Feminine products like pads and tampons should never be flushed down the toilet since they’re nowhere near paperlike products. But people tend to do that way too frequently. Just like how flushing down condoms will surely cause some serious plumbing problems, flushing down feminine products will do far worse to your plumbing systems. Pads and tampons are meant to absorb water, and in doing so, they expand. So you can easily imagine how they can be problematic once you’re flushing them down the toilet. They’ll expand inside the waterlines and cause some serious obstructions to cause toilet repair needs. That’s why you should never flush them down the toilet, and they should always be disposed of properly through garbage cans.
5. Dental Floss
Most dental floss is made with nylon or a more durable Teflon. Dental floss getting flushed can cause obstructive problems inside your waterways. Since dental floss is sturdy, it can mix with other materials inside the waterways, and that leads to obstructions and blockage. A clogged pipe will surely need toilet repair services, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid. So, make sure you don’t flush dental floss down the toilet and get rid of it normally.
6. Diapers
As unnatural as it is, people do flush diapers down the toilet. Although it’s a less frequent thing water treatment specialists tend to see, it’s still a thing nonetheless. Diapers are made to expand as they get wet, and that’s how they work. So, you can imagine how difficult it can be if it gets flushed down the toilet and causes toilet repair services.
7. Medications
It’s pretty common to flush down old and unneeded medications to get rid of them, And it might even be convenient to do so. However, it’s a terrible way to get rid of unnecessary medication, and in turn, it can contaminate your water supply pretty badly. Even putting them down in a garbage can is a bad idea. Flushing them down is an awfully terrible thing to do to your plumbing system. To get rid of unneeded medications properly, you should bag them first and let a local program or pharmacy dispose of them properly. That’s the only proper way you can deal with your unneeded and old medication. Keep your toilet bowl safe from clogging up and ruining your day by following simple yet effective tips.
Bottom Line
There are countless things people flush down their toilets, and the list we provided is only the tip of the iceberg. Professional toilet repair experts do see some unusually terrible things that get flushed down while they clean up the problems. No matter the extremities of these problems, these plumbing issues can cause you a lot of headaches, not to mention the time and money as well. Just by following our simple tips, you can easily narrow it down to the things you can flush and the ones you should not. Remember the rule of the Three P’s and you won’t make any expensive plumbing mistakes.
