What Not to Flush Down Your Toilet

After thousands and thousands of toilet drainage issues, the Trident Team has seen it all. We regularly hear, “I didn’t know that couldn’t be flushed down the toilet!”

Remind children that putting toys down toilet is not a good idea.

And we are not talking about the obvious things like little Sally or Johnny flushing Legos or other small plastics toys.   Did you know that a toilet is only designed to carry away human waste and dissolvable toilet tissue? Yep – those are the ONLY things that should be flushed down a residential toilet. Everything else is not designed to disintegrate.

 

But wait, you ask, surely paper towels can be flushed? Nope.

Cigarette butts? Not at all.

Feminine hygiene products or condoms? Never.

Can food scraps and grease be dumped in the toilet and flushed?  Absolutely not!

Even hair and dental floss should not be flushed.

And the biggest culprit?  “Flushable wipes” Despite the marketing ploy with the name – No, “flushable wipes” should not be flushed.

Why not Flushable wipes?

This is because the manufacturer definition of the  word “Flushable, simply means that it won’t come back up into the bowl after it’s flushed.  Flushable does NOT mean that it won’t cause a blockage somewhere down the line.  They also take a longer amount of time to breakdown compared to toilet paper. Because the breakdown of flushable wipes isn’t as rapid, clogged pipes and blockages occur more frequently. Putting your home’s plumbing at risk for serious clogs translates to hefty plumbing bills for you.

And finally, never ever flush old medication or chemicals down your toilet. You could be contributing to water pollution if you are flushing cleaning products, medications, and other hazardous materials down the toilet. Dispose of these items the right way and keep water sources pure.

if you do experience a clogged toilet, call Trident Plumbing immediately