Save yourself some money; top 10 things to avoid flushing stuff down your toilet!

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

As you drive down your street, you pass by the gas station cringing as you see the gas price.

“Those won’t be going down anytime soon,” you say to yourself.

You have to stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things. As you are checking out, the clerk tells you the total price with taxes.

“That will be $65.58 please.”

You look down at the five items in the bag trying to figure out how five items can cost so much.

Shaking your head, you jump back in your car and head home. You walk through the door with your bags, kick off your shoes and step into a puddle of water.

“What is going on here?”

You walk over to the bathroom and open the door. There it is. Your toilet has stopped up and it has been running for some time. Now you have to call a plumber, deal with cleaning up the toilet water (possible water damage), and spend more money.

Contrary to popular belief, toilets are not trash compactors. They don’t ‘swallow’ whatever you flush down them. Surprisingly, not everyone knows what seemingly harmless items don’t belong in the toilet, and how flushing these items could cost you!

Looking at how your last few months have been, one thing you must avoid is costs.

Alex Gouin, Plumber at Reliance Home Comfort, contacted me. More than 1.8 million Canadian homeowners now trust Reliance Home Comfort to deliver quality heating, cooling and plumbing and water filtration systems. Alex thought that it would be a great idea to find ways that we can save ourselves money by avoiding unnecessary home repairs. He provided us with a top 10 list of things you should never flush down the toilet.

Flushable/baby wipes
“Flushable” and baby wipes are incorrectly named and do not disintegrate in water as quickly as toilet tissue does. They can lodge in sewer pipes and clog the toilet.

Cell phones
Hear that? That’s the sound of your cell phone getting stuck in the bathroom plumbing. If you flush your phone, you will be calling the plumber, guaranteed. Nearly one in five people drop their smart phones in the toilet.

Condoms
Condoms will clog your toilet and should be disposed of in the trash. Period. They are non-biodegradable.

Dental floss
Tossing seemingly harmless dental floss in the toilet seems like no big deal, but floss is a) not biodegradable, and b) bunches up and causes clogging.

Hair
Brushing your long, beautiful mane or trimming your hipster beard over the toilet will form balls, cause clogs and trap odours. Always clean brushes over the trashcan. This goes for pet hair and fur as well.

Cotton swabs and cotton balls
They seem so small and innocent, but they gather in pipes and cause frustrating clogs.

Food
That ‘special’ bologna sandwich you pack for your child’s lunch five days a week? It might not be so special to them and being fed to your toilet. I unfortunately see food clogging toilets much more often than I should.

Fish/small pets
Please find a home for unwanted pets. Flushing them down the toilet is not only inhumane, it’s irresponsible. There’s no way they’re going to disintegrate in the toilet water and there’s a good chance they’ll create a clog.

Cat litter
Cat litter is made to clump in contact with moisture. This means it clumps up your toilet. So, from now on, bag up your litter — poop and all — and dispose of it in the garbage.

Cigarette butts
Despite their small size, cigarette butts are not easily flushable. Toilets were made for your butt, not a cigarette.

Hopefully this article has been helpful to you. Any way that we as a publication can help you save money, and resources, we will. Thank you Reliance Home Comfort for sharing this useful information.