If only we could flush our problems down the toilet, right?
Unfortunately, we can’t. There are also other things that we can’t and shouldn’t be flushing down our toilets—but many of us are guilty of doing. This is apart from all the money that you flush away on expensive, harmful, chemical solvents for your toilet, that is.
A lot of the time, we dispose of everyday household items and daily use objects in our toilets as a way of getting rid of them. Some of these things include:
1. Tissues, wipes and paper towels
You may think that tissues, face or baby wipes, and paper towels are the same category as toilet paper, but their makeup is different. The materials vary significantly and don’t dissolve in water or disintegrate over time. Paper towels are also designed to absorb more water, making them hard to break down.
This leads to clogs in your toilet and sewer lines, as well as damage to your pipes. Your best bet for disposing of them is to toss them in the bin. You should not recycle these items either.
2. Cigarette butts
If you popped into the bathroom for a quick smoke during the day or snuck one hiding from your family or roommates—we’ve all had those moments—and decided to flush those cigarette butts down the toilet, hold that thought.
These butts contaminate the water with their toxic chemicals, pollutants, and the parts of them that don’t dissolve, such as the cotton filling. The trash can is where these belong.
3. Tampons, pads, and diapers
Menstrual products and diapers seem like they could be flushed, especially the former. Diapers are often too large to flush, and even attempting to flush one down has probably resulted in a few clogs or plumbing accidents, but pads and tampons are much smaller.
This is why people often flush them down without realizing the contamination and the fact that these items often contain cotton and other protective materials that allow them to be absorbent. They don’t dissolve and clog your tank, pipes, and drains, leading to problems in the long-run.
4. Condoms
Condoms are also a commonly-flushed item, but they are not designed to break down in the water at all. Latex and other materials are waterproof—and lord knows the trouble the world would be in if they weren’t—but this is exactly why it’s a bad idea to flush them.
You can dispose of them in various ways, especially if you’re concerned about the mess, or you share a residential bathroom and are worried about privacy.
A common feature of all of the above items is that none of them are designed to be dissolved in water. The materials they’re made of are waterproof or absorbent and thus don’t break down.
However, our rapid dissolving toilet flush sheets or flush sheets are designed to break down when flushed and release enzymes that break down your waste too. Get in touch with us to order toilet flush sheet that you can use without worrying about clogs and damage to your plumbing system!