A damaged sewer line can mean costly repairs. It’s tempting to flush all of your worries away, but there are some items that should NOT be going down the toilet. If you or somebody you know flushes these items down the toilet, tell them to stop. During the holidays, it’s important to save as much as you can.
Protect your wallet by avoiding these “flushable” items:
- Q-Tips
- Feminine Hygiene Products
- Stringy Things
- Wipes
- Food
Q-Tips
They may seem harmless because of their small size, but over time these little cotton swabs can clog your toilet. This is because cotton products clump together as opposed to breaking down like toilet paper does. You may think a plunger is all you need, but some clogs can run deeper. Due to the weight and “clumpiness” of cotton, it may be uncloggable unless serviced by a professional plumber.
Feminine Hygiene Products
Like cotton, these products are meant to absorb a lot…of liquid. Not only are these larger than Q-Tips, but they also have plastic and other materials besides cotton that can bring harm to the environment. Instead of flushing them, consider wrapping them in toilet paper and disposing of them in a trash bin.
Stringy Things
Hair, floss, and other stringy things should not be flushed. These items are not easily dissolvable in water. If you’ve already had to deal with pulling hair out of your sink drain, think about the giant blockage it could make in your sewer line. Stringy materials make a big net and catch all kinds of debris.
Flushable Wipes
You’ve probably heard from countless Boise plumbers that flushable wipes are not toilet-friendly. Packages can be very deceiving. Wet wipes or baby wipes that promote being flushable do not disintegrate the same way toilet paper does. Even if you haven’t noticed a problem yet, the repeated use of disposal of them down the toilet will cause a clog. If you’re a fan of using them, consider disposing of them in a wastebasket with a cover.
Food
Not only should you protect your garbage disposal, you should protect your toilet. If you haven’t already read, Black Friday is the busiest day for plumbers. The short reason why is because everyone is looking to dispose of large portions of food in the most convenient way possible. This means overworking the garbage disposal or flushing it all down the toilet.
Just because it is out of sight and out of mind, doesn’t mean that it won’t come back to haunt you. If you’re a cook, then you already know that a lot of food expands when wet. Pasta, bread, and rice are very absorbent. When you flush these food items you run the risk of causing a major clog in your sewer line. It’s better to have stinky food in the trash than in liquid form gurgling up from the toilet.
Boise Plumbing
Speaking of gurgling toilets, there are people out there that can help you with that. Knight Plumbing is a 24/7 emergency plumber in the Treasure Valley that specializes in commercial and residential sewer line cleaning services. Some homeowners don’t follow preventative measures and end up with a costly repair. Don’t be that homeowner. If you are, then at least there are reliable professionals that can help you at a reasonable price.
