Your FAQs answered: What can you flush down the toilet?  

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Throwing things down the toilet can be a convenient way of getting rid of waste, but it’s important to know what you can and can’t dispose of in this way. Flushing the wrong thing can impact the environment as well as damaging or blocking your pipes, causing a raft of smelly problems. Here we answer common questions like ‘can you flush hair down the toilet’ and even ‘can you put kitchen roll down the toilet’. Read on for everything you need to know.

Things you can flush down the toilet

Let’s look at what you definitely can chuck down the loo. It’s a pretty short list. If you stick to tissue paper, waste water and bodily waste you can’t really go wrong. Water whooshes through, and excrement and tissue paper are easily broken down on their trip to the sewer.

Cushelle toilet paper is safe to flush as it’s biodegradable, meaning it disintegrates when you flush it. As bathroom tissue is a fragile item, it disperses when soaked in water. That means it breaks down easily and does not linger, unlike many of the other common items we’ll talk about in the next section. Keep a bin right by the toilet, and every time you think about throwing anything other than waste or tissue down your loo, you can think again.

Can you flush wet wipes down the toilet? With some wet wipes you can as they’re biodegradable, and they are a great product to use after wiping with regular toilet roll; wipes will leave your bum feeling squeaky clean!

What should you not flush down the toilet?

We’ve covered what that can go down the toilet; now here’s an extensive list of what can’t be flushed instead:

1. Tampons
2. Condoms
3. Food remains
4. Cardboard tubes
5. Medicines
6. Facial tissues
7. Nappies
8. Cotton buds or pads
9. Hair
10. Kitchen roll

Now, let’s run through some of the most commonly asked questions about why these items can’t be disposed of in the toilet.

Why can’t these things be flushed?

We know what you might be thinking – how much easier life would be if we could just throw everything in the toilet and forget it ever existed?! No more fighting about who has to take the bin out this time, and no more getting your hands and clothes dirty while handling the garbage. But alas, there are a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t throw any of the above items down the drains, and here are the main ones:

1. The sheer bulk of items like nappies just won’t fit through your waste pipes.
2. The above items don’t break down like toilet tissue and bodily waste products do, therefore increasing the risk of blockages and even sewer floods.
3. They impact on the environment increasing pollution and adding waste to our seas.
4. Facial tissues, although biodegradable, are not recommended for flushing because they are very strong and can take longer to break down.

There you have it, answers to your flushable FAQs. So, the next time someone asks ‘what can you flush down the toilet?’, you can give them a well-informed answer.  Stick to this advice and not only will you be doing your bit for the environment, you’ll be reducing the risk of stinky blockages too!