Your bathroom pipes may seem like a good place to dispose of gross products you don’t want to get rid of normally, but you should think twice before you act. If you throw the wrong things down your pipes, you can end up with a clogged toilet or worse. Here are a few things you should never flush.
Paper Towels, Napkins, and Tissue
If you’re out of toilet paper, using one of these products might sound like a good idea, but don’t be fooled. Toilet paper is designed to disintegrate in water, while these other paper products don’t have the same properties and won’t break down in the same way.
Flushable Wipes
Contrary to their name, flushable wipes aren’t something to flush. They can get stuck in the pipes because they don’t break down fast enough.
Medications
Flushing medications of any kind, whether they’re painkillers, antidepressants, sedatives, antibiotics, or more, can be dangerous. The pills will break down, but they’ll contaminate your wastewater, which will then contaminate your water supply.
Hair
Hair is a common cause of clogged bathtubs, showers, and sinks, so it makes sense that it would also clog your toilet. If you are cleaning out a hairbrush or even cleaning out a drain, put the hair in the garbage rather than down your toilet.
Cat Litter
Especially if you use compostable cat litter, you might be tempted to flush your cat’s waste down the toilet. However, there are a couple of reasons why you want to avoid this. The first is that cat waste can contain potentially harmful parasites that may not get filtered out of the water supply. The second is that cat litter can continue to absorb water which can lead to clogged pipes.
Contact Us for Professional Plumbing Help
If you are dealing with clogged pipes in any part of your house, you should get a professional’s help to unclog them. Clogged pipes can burst, leak, create bad smells, and make it impossible to flush or drain anything, don’t wait. Contact BPI Plumbing for help today.