These days, toilets are the under-appreciated part of your house. Some people spend time and effort thinking about how to keep their toilets running. There are a lot of reasons why a toilet could clog on many occasions. Identifying the major issues causing blockages is the best way to make sure the problems are eliminated.
Type of Toilet Being Used
Low flush toilets are a great way of limiting the amount of water being used in any property to keep your water bills efficient. However, the 5 Star Plumbing company often sees these types of toilets causing issues with low water pressure. The second issue with low flush toilets is also found in the date a toilet fixture was created. The 5 Star Plumbing named those toilets that were created from 1994 to 1997. Our team called it a first-generation low flush toilet because it has too little strength to force waste into the drains. In this blog, the professional plumbers at the 5 Star Plumbing company outline ten common household items that can clog your toilet.
Common Household Objects That Will Clog Your Toilet
1. Bathroom Wipes
Bathroom wipes have become a popular alternative to normal toilet paper, but even “flushable” wipes can still create clogs to your system. These types of wipes may go down the toilet, but sanitation officials say they don’t degrade after they flush.
Solution: Every time you use bathroom wipes, baby wipes, or face wipes, dispose of them in the trash quickly for your safety.
2. Hair
Just because hair is a natural part of your body doesn’t mean it is safe to flush in the toilet. Hair can clog up any of your drains, including that in your shower, sink, and toilet. Every time your hair goes down the toilet, it clumps together and forms blockages in your plumbing system.
Solution: Throw away any unwanted hair in the trash to keep you away from paying costly plumbing repairs.
3. Fats, Oils, and Grease
You may have flushed fats, oils, or grease down your toilet, but this action can cause serious and costly plumbing issues. While these fatty substances generally flush as liquids, they eventually cool and create buildup on the sides of your plumbing pipes. These buildups eventually form blockages.
Solution: To get rid of fats, oils, and grease, put them in a disposable container and throw it in the trash when it’s full.
4. Disposable Diapers
Diapers can contain human waste, but not made to go in the toilet. The disposable diapers are made of toxic plastic that expands when exposed to water. If you keep your diaper flushing down the toilet, you may soon find it stuck in your pipes, and can leave a dirty mess on your hands.
Solution: After you wrap up your child’s diaper, dispose of it in the trash. If you do flush down a diaper, turn off the water to your toilet and call a plumber for assistance.
5. Prescription Medication
A flush down the toilet seems like a safe and easy way to get rid of any of your prescription drugs without knowing that these drugs can cause problems after they are flushed. Once drugs go down the toilet, they dissolve in your plumbing system’s water and contaminate groundwater, kill bacteria, and generate harmful effects on wildlife downstream.
Solution: Ask your doctor or pharmacy for more information on how to correctly dispose of your medication.
6. Condoms
They seem small and perfectly easy to flush, but condoms can cause serious problems for your septic tank and sewage treatment plants. Latex material can last long if it clogs your plumbing system.
Solution: You can wrap condoms in toilet paper and dispose of them discreetly in the trash right away to avoid clogging of the toilets.
7. Cotton Balls and Swabs
These small puffs of cotton can promptly cause issues for you and your plumbing system. Don’t expect these cotton products to break down if you flush them because they won’t. These items can quickly absorb water and become trapped in pipe bends which can result in huge blockages.
Solution: Put your cotton balls and swabs in the trash when you are finished using them.
8. Paper Towels
We know that paper towels were meant to absorb spills, but not to be flushed down the toilets. The thicker and larger paper towel material does not break down, just like toilet paper, and will clog up your toilet quickly.
Solution: Throw away your used paper towels in the trash right away. If you need an expert’s help with a paper towel problem, call a plumber to unclog your toilet as soon as possible.
9. Dental Floss
Every time you finish flossing your teeth, don’t put your dental floss in the toilet. This kind of hygienic material is not biodegradable and can tangle itself around objects in your pipes. Entanglement can make the clogs larger and make it even more difficult to unclog your pipes.
Solution: Avoid dirty and messy clogs! Throw your used floss in the trash as soon as you finish flossing your teeth. If you have a complicated dental floss clog, call an expert plumber to assist your toilet run smoothly.
10. Cigarette Butts
Cigarette butts are full of toxic chemicals that end up in our water supply. Just like floss, cigarettes aren’t biodegradable.
Solution: Keep your water clean and your toilet clogs free from cigarette butts and any other objects. Next, put your cigarette butts in a cigarette receptacle.
Prevent Toilet Clogs!
There are times that you may be tempted to flush these items down the toilet, but please, don’t do it. The only objects that should be flushed in the toilet is human waste. Your toilet and plumbing system was not constructed to handle anything else.
The objects mentioned above may flush, but sooner or later, they will cause blockages, and it will stress you more. Keep your plumbing system clog-free and keep away from flushing any foreign objects down the toilet. However, if one of these items does go down the toilet, get in touch with your local plumber quickly to receive professional assistance. If you don’t know where to call, the 5 Star Plumbing is ready to help you with your concerns as soon as possible.
