15 Things You Have to Stop Flushing Down Your Toilet and Drain

Bandages hold up so well on our skin because they’re made of non-biodegradable material. When introduced to our waterways, they won’t be able to break down naturally. Tossed used bandages in the trash. Wrappers on the other hand, can be recycled.

Related: 10 Ways You’re Destroying the Planet From the Comfort of Your Own Home

There are some brands of cat litter that claim to be safe to flush down the toilet. While this may be true, most toilet tanks don’t process enough water to adequately flush the litter to the point they’re not clogging your plumbing. We recommend getting rid of your litter come garbage day.

Related: 12 Stylish Pet Accessories Your Home Needs This Year (Ditch the Cat Tree)

Cigarettes

have harsh chemicals that are unwise to introduce to our water systems. You can head to your neighbourhood general store for a receptacle to store your butts when you put them out. The best place for cigarettes once you’ve finished smoking them is in the trash.

Condoms don’t degrade in water, so they’re not a great candidate for disposal down your toilet, as they lead to clogged plumbing and septic tanks.

Even though they’re small, contacts are still just as dangerous as any other single-use plastic when improperly disposed of: they degrade into small particles that adversely affect organisms in our aquatic ecosystems. While it may seem harmless to flush them down the toilet, your best bet is to throw your lenses in the trash when you’re done with them.

Cotton swells when it interacts with water and can easily amass so much water that it clogs your plumbing. The safest way to dispose of these guys is in your bathroom trash bin. Alternatively, there are zero-waste alternatives.

In the off-chance you can fit a full diaper into your toilet bowl, you would be amiss to flush it. Diapers prevent leakages and spills through absorbing liquid and will continue to expand in your pipes, causing major plumbing issues.

Floss doesn’t decompose on its own and can get wound around parts of your piping, obstructing the disposal of the solid waste passing through your plumbing. Avoid flushing these down the toilet or your bathroom sink’s drain.

Despite claims that wipes will disintegrate after flushing, most plumbers that attend to home plumbing issues report that they don’t decompose the same way toilet paper does and are often the main causes of blockages and clogged piping systems.

Related: 12 Basic Plumbing Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

Even though food will eventually break down if flushed down your toilet or your kitchen sink, it can cause major stoppages until then. The best way to dispose of food waste is through composting or just putting it in the trash.

We’re all familiar with how hair clogs the shower drain. Hair doesn’t dissolve and will lead to clogged plumbing if you continue to flush it down the toilet or your bathtub’s drain. Invest in a mesh drain strainer to stop the flow of hair down the drain.

Most household cleaners are too stringent for our septic systems and can really compromise the integrity of our water systems. There are special disposal facilities where you can take any hazardous chemicals that require careful disposal.

Related: 10 Household Cleaning Products You Should Never Mix

The chemicals in our medication don’t belong in our water systems and can impact the aquatic life they eventually come into contact with when our water waste is flushed out to sea. Most pharmacies have staff on hand that can help or advise you on how to safely and discreetly dispose of your medication should you need to throw it out.

Paper towel handles the stress of cleaning up big, sopping messes because they don’t break down easily when exposed to fluids. This includes the water flushing through your piping. Because they’re so absorbent, paper towels pose a risk to obstructing your plumbing and forming blockages.

Menstrual pads and tampons work so well because they’re absorbent. Unfortunately, this makes them a prime culprit when it comes to toilet clogs. Throw these in the trash or better yet, invest in a reusable menstrual cup or pads.