By Honestly - 09/02/2017 11:00 - United Kingdom - Measham

Today, I had to teach my mother that tampons do not belong in the toilet. FML
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Top comments

tash901 31

Most tampons can now be flushed, just not the applicator or the wrapping, bearing in mind the type of toilet and water systems you have.

46 3
ChristinePi 36

In America, some tampons can be put in the toilet now. However if you have a septic tank or live in an apartment complex with many people it's advised not to because it won't break down quick enough and may clog your toilet.

27 1

Comments

evilplatypus 38

My father is a plumber and I've asked him about this. He says if your plumbing is less than 50 years old (and not septic) it shouldn't cause any problems.

9 0
KingAdrock 16

I'm assuming your father only sees things from the residential side, in which case I'm sure it appears fine. Except the issue is while it's not likely to cause problems on YOUR end, flushed tampons and other products that don't quickly break down in water accumulate and clog sewers, making life horrible for the folks at your water treatment plant. Honestly the ONLY things that should ever be flushed is bodily waste and toilet paper.

1 0
SKYstlimit 11

that's not true unless you have a toilet macerator or a personal tank on your house only pads must go in the bin, 90% of toilets in the UK accept them and the fact you don't know that is disturbing, who told you they didn't? if you're just going off the fact there are bins in public Loos they're for pads and applicators/ wrappers etc.

2 4
Nysha 17

I haven't given a rat's ass whether or not the in-home plumbing can cope, ever since my friend, who is a sewage engineer, told me that the gross job they give to newbies is scraping used pads and tampons out of the filters by hand. I just can't do that to someone.

4 2
evilplatypus 38

They work in sewage. What the HELL were they expecting?

3 2
hrv_143 3

I used to... until there was a clog in our line somewhere and it backed up onto the sidewalk thru the sewer grate. Not sure who was more embarrassed by the awkward convo about no longer flushing used tampons following the back-up - my dad or me.

2 1
blackrose1996 11

You can flush a tampon just not a pad tampons are fine

0 2
ambeerr 14

If you have relatively new pipes then tampons can be flushed. My mums house has really old pipes and the pipes get clogged when one gets flushed down.

0 2
cantfixme36 28

In Canada, most sewer systems can handle the tampon itself. Honestly I didn't even know some people didn't flush them until I was older. You can flush the absorbent part, just not the applicator

1 1
onceuponatime456 16

You had to "teach" your mother? How arrogant of you. Tampons can go in the toilet, smart-ass, now apologize to your mother for being such a twerp!

2 2
seyeran 9

My husband works in wastewater treatment and seriously PLEASE DON'T FLUSH TAMPONS! Like a previous comment said, they really do cause problems at treatment centers and have to be removed prior to anything else. Most things that are called "flushable" are only that, flushable. They don't break down in the water and clog things up down the line.

3 1