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Your plumbing and septic system can be surprisingly delicate at times. Flushing the wrong item down your toilet can cause clogs, leaks, breakage, or major problems with your septic tank. Ideally, you should only be flushing toilet paper and waste, but you should still watch out for these frequently flushed items that are better off in the trash.

What Your Plumber Doesn't Want You to Flush

1. Paper & Cotton Products

This includes paper towels, cotton swabs, feminine hygiene products, baby wipes, and similar items. While they may seem similar to toilet paper, toilet paper is designed to dissolve while these are designed to hold together, leading to clogs in your plumbing and during septic tank pumping.

2. Cat Litter

plumbingWhile some cat litter is advertised as flushable, this is misleading. Litter is extremely absorbent and will expand to many times its size when left in water. This creates clogs and huge messes for your plumber to handle.

3. Hair & Floss

Because a little bit of hair is small and flexible, many homeowners think it can't do any harm. However, these thin strands get caught on corrosion and unevenness on the inside of your plumbing. The hair tangles with other passing debris and creates large, stubborn hairballs over time.

4. Medication

Medicine that is flushed down the toilet can end up back in the water supply. The usual treatments employed to sanitize water don't get rid of many medications, so they can circulate back into tap water, with potential health implications for everyone who drinks it.

5. Strong Chemicals

Similarly, chemical cleaning supplies, degreasers, and drain cleaners can contaminate your local water. Also, they can kill off necessary bacteria in your septic tank so that waste is no longer broken down correctly. 

 

If you've flushed the wrong thing, Nationwide Plumbing Service will help you get rid of the problem. Serving Monroe County, they offer camera inspections to help locate clogs and damage inside your pipes, and they are the area's experts in jetting services to clean drains and traps. To schedule services, call (305) 853-1848 or get in touch online.

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