Though a clogged toilet is a common problem and one that you can fix by yourself, it's best to avoid it in the first place. Flushing the wrong things is one of the main reasons your toilet clogs.
Learn the top things you shouldn't flush, according to professional plumbers with years of experience.
Meet the Expert
- Sam Chmielarski is a Licensed Plumber and Owner of Full Flow Plumbing and Drainage.
- Aaron Adams is a Master Plumber and CEO of Aaron Services: Plumbing, Heating, Cooling.
- Allison Harrison is co-owner of Goodbee Plumbing, Drains, and Water Treatment, LLC.
Baby Wipes
Flushing a baby wipe seems natural since it's about the size of a tissue. It even appears to be made of paper. So, how bad could it be to flush a baby wipe?
According to plumbers, of all the things you shouldn't flush, baby wipes are at the top of the list.
"I'm constantly pulling baby wipes out of blocked drains," says Sam Chmielarski, a plumber and owner of Full Flow Plumbing and Drainage. "They don’t break down like paper would."
Though baby wipes are soft and feel like paper, they aren't paper. Baby wipes are mostly made from plastics or semi-synthetic fibers like rayon.
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Flushable Items
"If it says flushable on the label, it probably isn't," says Aaron Adams, a Master Plumber and CEO of Aaron Services: Plumbing, Heating, Cooling.
Adams says flushable items represent a "knowledge gap" for the general public. Though it seems paradoxical, most flushable items are not flushable.
That's because there is no industry standard for what's flushable and what's not. It's up to the manufacturer to define what flushable means.
Allison Harrison of Goodbee Plumbing agrees, and notes that the majority of times she and her team snakes toilets, the clog is due to flushable wipes.
Fun Fact
In a third-party test of 23 items branded as "flushable" by the manufacturer, not even one item was found to be genuinely flushable.
Sanitary Items
If your sewer drain is clogged, one reason may be that sanitary items were flushed down the toilet.
Safely dispose of sanitary items or feminine care products in the trash, not in the toilet. This includes tampons, applicators, sanitary pads, cups, and sponges, among other items.
Toilet Cleaning Pads and Wands
Most people use a traditional plastic toilet brush and holder to clean a toilet. It's simple, low-cost, and efficient. Manufacturers introduced flushable cleaning pads because it's unpleasant to face a nasty brush each time you clean the toilet.
Plumbers say that toilet cleaning pads are one of the things you shouldn't flush. No matter what the product instructions claim, the pads may clear the toilet bowl but still get caught up farther down the sewer line.
Toilet wands that use disposable pads sometimes get flushed, too. Plumbers say that both items—pads and wands—should go in the regular trash.
What Can You Flush?
"If you don’t want to have to call us, keep it to human waste and toilet paper only," Harrison says.
Thick Toilet Paper
Though toilet paper is safe to flush, some variations may clog the toilet, says Sam Chmielarski of Full Flow Plumbing and Drainage.
"I don't recommend the ultra-thick 4-ply toilet paper. The extra thickness takes longer to break down," Chmielarski says. "Use too much, and you can quickly cause a clog, particularly with modern water-saving toilets."
If you're okay with 2- or 3-ply toilet paper, use that. But if you prefer 4-ply toilet paper, use less of it. Also, consider upgrading to a pressure-assist toilet.
Paper Towels
Like ultra-thick toilet paper, paper towels will eventually break down upon water contact. But they take so long to break down that toilet clogs may first develop.
Cleaning wipes fall in the same category of things you shouldn't flush.Cleaning wipes are made of polyester, polypropylene, cotton, or rayon—not paper.
Dispose of paper towels and cleaning wipes in the trash.
Condoms
While paper towels and thick toilet paper might break down in the sewer over time, condoms never stand a chance.
Most condoms are made of rubber latex, and a smaller number of condoms are made of polymers like polyurethane.Both condom materials are designed to resist liquids, so they will not break down in the sewer.
Instead of flushing condoms, wrap them in toilet paper and deposit them in the household trash.
Strange and Unexpected Things
"Just because you can flush something down the toilet does not mean you should," Harrison says. Because a toilet drain is so wide, it looks like it can magically make anything disappear.
Plumbers report finding bizarre and surprising flushed items clogging toilet lines.
"I've found plenty of toys, kids shoes, as well as landscaping and decorative rocks and pebbles," Chmielarski says.
Other plumbers have found dental floss, coins, paper money, action figures, rings, turtles, fish, and small liquor bottles.
Many of these flushes are accidental—mostly phones, glasses, and toothbrushes—so avoid using these items near the toilet. Wear disposable waterproof gloves and remove by hand. If flushed, solid items may need to be snaked out with a toilet auger.
