The plumbing of your home is a pretty fragile system. Whether you realize it or not, the slightest hiccup in that system can cause some major damage to not only your home but also your wallet. Consider just how intricate the plumbing system in a home is. There are pipes in the walls, from drains, beneath the home, and all over the place. Keeping the pipe trails clean and running well takes some getting used to if you’re a new homeowner. One major issue that can turn your beautiful bathroom into a watery mess comes in the form of toilet issues. Specifically, flushing what shouldn’t be flushed and failing to maintain your toilet system properly. Flushing items that shouldn’t be flushed is something everyone does at one point or another. Either by accident or lack of knowledge, backing up your toilet system can lead to some serious home repairs. For anyone with small children, the battle to keep them from flushing items away is almost a full-time job. For anyone curious as to what you can and can’t flush down the toilet, below is a handy guide to keep in mind the next time you’re ready to toss and flush.
Toilet Bowl Scrub Pad – This would seem a little odd to some. Why couldn’t you flush a scrub pad down the toilet after cleaning? These scrub pads aren’t biodegradable and often contain some pretty harmful chemicals.
Floss – Something as small as floss doesn’t appear to be at that harmful to flush down the toilet. Unfortunately, all that floss can have some nasty consequences. Since floss doesn’t break down, it gathers gunk and grime until it’s a large floss ball in your pipe.
Paper Towels – This is one item on the list that doesn’t seem to fit very well. Paper towels do, of course, breakdown eventually. But due to their thickness, paper towels can cause damage to your drain and septic tank over time.
Hair – You know when you’re cleaning out your shower drain and pull a huge mass of hair and gunk out? The same thing goes for your toilet. Hair can become a major hazard to your pipes. Instead of trying to flush pet or human hair down the commode, toss it in the trash.
Cotton Swabs – Cotton seems like a pretty safe bet when it comes to breaking down, right? Not really. Before breaking down, cotton will get wet and glob together with other cotton balls and items in your pipes. This will lead to some pretty major blockages.
Band-Aids – Another small item on the list that doesn’t seem harmful. Band-Aids don’t break down and the plastic can cause clogs in your pipe system.
Food – It might seem a little strange but tossing food down the toilet isn’t a wise choice. It looks small going down but some foods can gum up and create major blockages in your system.
Flushable Wipes – It goes against the word itself. The wipes are supposed to be flushable. These wipes might say flushable but they take a long time to break down and can cause issues in your system. Toilet paper is probably your best bet when it comes to safety items you can flush.
Paying attention to items you should and shouldn’t flush will save your system and your home from damages in the future. If you have children with an inclination to play in the toilet, or even pets trying to toss their toys away, try installing a safety lock. If your pipes are giving you problems then call us today and leave the fixing to us.