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25 Things You Should Never Flush Down the Toilet
Are you tired of your toilet clogging up all the time? If you’re like many other people, you probably flush plenty of things down the toilet that don’t actually belong, without ever realizing it. This can lead to serious plumbing problems such as clogs, leaks, burst pipes, sewage backup, septic system damage, and more. If you want to avoid dealing with extensive and costly damage, it’s best to become aware of what should and should not be flushed.
At Roby Services, we always want to do what we can to help you take care of your home. As a third-generation home service company, we have seen our fair share of plumbing problems. The most common problem we encounter is clogged toilets and pipes that are a result of foreign items being flushed down the toilet. In order to prevent a major plumbing emergency in your home, continue reading.
What Can’t Be Flushed?
Whatever we flush down needs to be able to break down and make its all the way through your sewer line, through public sewer lines, and into your local wastewater treatment facility. That means that there are a lot of things that are better off being tossed into the trash.
This includes:
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Tissues
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Paper towels
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Face wipes
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Baby wipes
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Bathroom wipes that are marketed as “flushable”
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Q-tips
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Cotton balls
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Band-Aids
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Gum
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Grease, oil, or fat
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Food scraps
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Pet fish
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Small toys
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Feminine hygiene products
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Dental floss
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Contact lenses
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Diapers
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Medication
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Cigarettes
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Hair
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Bleach
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Paint
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Cat litter
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Candy
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Wrappers
Items that are marketed as “flushable” should never be flushed down the toilet. They almost never break down fast enough to prevent major plumbing problems, and instead, they end up negatively impacting the environment by ending up in the ocean or other local water sources.
What Can Be Flushed?
After reading the list above, you’re probably wondering “What can be flushed down the toilet?” Well, the answer is quite simple: toilet paper and human waste. That’s it!
Unfortunately, toilets were not designed to be used like trash cans, so we need to do our best to use them properly if we want to avoid a serious plumbing disaster.
Consequences of Flushing Items That Don’t Belong
Usually, we take an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach when it comes to our plumbing systems. Once we flush something and it disappears, we move on and forget about it. However, foreign objects that cannot be broken down, can become stuck in your sewer line, where they sit and catch more buildup until your line is seriously clogged and you are facing major sewage backup problems.
If these foreign objects do manage to make it through your sewer line, they will go through public sewer lines, where they can also cause major sewage backups.
Sewage backups can result in:
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Sewage overflowing into your home
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Sewage overflowing in your yard or in the street
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Coming into contact with extremely dangerous contaminants present in sewage
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Dealing with extremely expensive cleanup and damage repair
Not only can flushing any of the above items down the toilet damage your plumbing system, but it can also negatively impact the environment around you. Needless to say, you will be better off by throwing away any foreign objects into the trash rather than flushing them down the toilet.
What to Do If You Experience a Plumbing Emergency
Dealing with plumbing emergencies is incredibly stressful, which is why you need to know you have a reliable team on your side. At Roby Services, our plumbers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide emergency services, because your safety and comfort matter to us! Count on our licensed techs to arrive promptly, accurately diagnose the problem, and implement expert plumbing repairs to get your system back up and running as soon as possible.
For 24/7 plumbing service, call (980) 308-0200 or contact us online today. We look forward to serving you!