FISH
It might seem quite natural to dispose of a dead goldfish by simply flushing it down the toilet. But this is actually not a very good idea. You see, fish take a while to break down in water, so Goldie the goldfish could get caught up in the pipes and cause a clog. We suggest a formal funeral and burial in the backyard next time.
GREASE
We hope you know that grease should never be poured down the sink drain as it can cause a number of problems. And don’t think you can get rid of that collection of bacon grease by flushing it down the toilet either. Cooking grease congeals when it cools down, which means it will stick to the sides of your pipes and grab hold of whatever happens to be trying to pass it.
GUM
As you are already aware, chewing gum doesn’t really break down all that well in water. In addition, it’s sticky and will adhere to your pipes should it be flushed down the toilet. Avoid a clogged toilet by throwing your gum away in a wastebasket.
HAIR
In a nutshell, hair forms a net when it is flushed down the toilet and it will basically get caught on anything and everything. In addition, hair floats and will never dissolve in water, no matter how long it sits there. You are just asking for trouble by flushing hair down the toilet.
CAT LITTER
There are some brands of cat litter that claim to be flushable, but truth be told, most toilets don’t have the volume of water it takes to move such a heavy substance through the pipes. Dumping cat litter into your toilet will only lead to problems.
TISSUE PAPER AND PAPER TOWELS
Many people think that tissue paper and paper towels aren’t all that different from toilet paper. They are very similar, except that toilet paper is designed to break down in water and other paper products are not. For this reason, flushing tissue paper down the toilet can cause problems.
DENTAL FLOSS
Like hair, dental floss floats and turns into a net when it is flushed. It can even wrap around parts of your plumbing and cause further damage.
CONDOMS
Condoms are not designed to break down in water, so when you flush them, they are likely to cause problems should they clog up the toilet.
BABY WIPES
Most baby wipes claim that they are flushable. But even flushable wipes take a long time to break down in water and could cause a problem before they disintegrate. To avoid having to call a plumber, you should not flush baby wipes.
COTTON
You should not be flushing anything with cotton down the toilet. This means you should be throwing our cotton balls and Q-Tips instead. All cotton does when you flush it is clump together and cause problems in your pipes.
PADS AND DIAPERS
Pads and diapers are made to absorb and trap water, not to break down in water. This means that flushing them is a definite no-no.
If you have made the mistake of flushing something that you should not have, or if your kid did, call American Drain Company and we can resolve the issue.