7 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER FLUSH DOWN THE TOILET

7 Things You Should Never Flush Down The Toilet – Some view their toilet as an alternate garbage disposal system, but the truth is that toilets are not garbage cans and many of the items people commonly trust to dispose of with a 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. So let’s get right into it! 7 Things You Should Never Flush Down The Toilet:

Bathroom Wipes

The new “flushable moist towelettes” that you’ve probably seen commercials on tv for are becoming an increasingly popular bathroom item. 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 that the wipes are not biodegradable so the wipes don’t degrade after flushing causing headaches for sewer systems, which can add up to big bills to fix.

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.

Medications

Many medicine cabinets have at least a bottle or two of expired or unused medication. Some might think that they’re doing a safe thing by getting rid of medication by flushing them to keep them out of the wrong hands. This is actually an extremely dangerous action to take as the medications can destroy good bacteria in the sewer system, contaminate water supplies, and have devastating effects on wildlife around the contaminated water. A better choice for getting rid of unused or expired medication in a safe way is to bring to a local pharmacy as they’ll have the proper procedures to safely dispose of those items.

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 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 (commonly referred to as FOG) 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 list of items that are commonly flushed down the toilet that shouldn’t be can help prevent some avoidable plumbing issues in your home. If you’re concerned about what might be in your pipes and waiting to cause a headache, contact us to inspect your plumbing system. Peace of mind is only a quick call away.

The DrainWorks Team.