Do you flush tampons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course not. Where you raised in a barn?

Those with menses in the 80s/90s were told to flush.

No, not all parents were uneducated clods.

I got my period in 1994 and was told from the day my mother first had "the talk" with me that I should never, ever, EVER flush a tampon.

DP. Why so rude?! If you really want this message spread for the greater good, maybe don’t be such a jerk? There are clearly lots of people didn’t know. (Myself included.)

It is common sense. Would you flush a sock down the toilet? A diaper? A pad?

No, but I’ve never had a tampon come anywhere close the size of any of those. Nor are they covered in a plastic barrier.

A tampon submerged in water gets very large and they are meant to not break apart. Flushing baby socks down your toilet would probably be less of an occlusion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course not. Where you raised in a barn?

Those with menses in the 80s/90s were told to flush.

No, not all parents were uneducated clods.

I got my period in 1994 and was told from the day my mother first had "the talk" with me that I should never, ever, EVER flush a tampon.

DP. Why so rude?! If you really want this message spread for the greater good, maybe don’t be such a jerk? There are clearly lots of people didn’t know. (Myself included.)

It is common sense. Would you flush a sock down the toilet? A diaper? A pad?

No, but I’ve never had a tampon come anywhere close the size of any of those. Nor are they covered in a plastic barrier.

+1. Tampons are much smaller than both those things. I don’t think it’s crazy for someone who doesn’t know better to think you could flush them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all those name calling those who flush, and are acting like it's THE worst offense someone can do: Did you grow up believing you can flush them, or were you always told not to flush?

I grew up being told not to flush. We lived in a "new" build house. It is (or so I thought) common knowledge you don't put anything down the toilet expect toilet paper and human waste (and spiders, of course). You are asking for plumbing problems if you flush other things down, but especially tampons. Plus it is on the bathroom stalls in many places not to do it- that should clue you in it isn't good practice.

I was never given any guidance as a teen and flushed them. When I was in college our sorority house had a major plumbing issue and the plumber pulled out what was probably hundreds of tampons from years of 27 women in 1 house. I never flushed again after that.

Yeah. this. I had a friend move into their house, and then have a literal sh**storm indoors and out that cost thousands of dollars in repairs (plus landscaping). The source was tampons that were flushed. Please never ever ever.

Same goes for wipes. they are not flushable. we just paid 5K for that business, after there was poop coming out of all of our shower drains...

Just. Don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course not. Where you raised in a barn?

Those with menses in the 80s/90s were told to flush.

No, not all parents were uneducated clods.

I got my period in 1994 and was told from the day my mother first had "the talk" with me that I should never, ever, EVER flush a tampon.

DP. Why so rude?! If you really want this message spread for the greater good, maybe don’t be such a jerk? There are clearly lots of people didn’t know. (Myself included.)

It is common sense. Would you flush a sock down the toilet? A diaper? A pad?

No, but I’ve never had a tampon come anywhere close the size of any of those. Nor are they covered in a plastic barrier.

Put a super tampon in water sometime. It can easily grow to the size of a deck of cards. It may not seem like it in your body bc there isn’t that much fluid and it has the counters pressure of your tissue- but free floating in water, they get huge

+1. Tampons are much smaller than both those things. I don’t think it’s crazy for someone who doesn’t know better to think you could flush them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all those name calling those who flush, and are acting like it's THE worst offense someone can do: Did you grow up believing you can flush them, or were you always told not to flush?

I grew up being told not to flush. We lived in a "new" build house. It is (or so I thought) common knowledge you don't put anything down the toilet expect toilet paper and human waste (and spiders, of course). You are asking for plumbing problems if you flush other things down, but especially tampons. Plus it is on the bathroom stalls in many places not to do it- that should clue you in it isn't good practice.

I was never given any guidance as a teen and flushed them. When I was in college our sorority house had a major plumbing issue and the plumber pulled out what was probably hundreds of tampons from years of 27 women in 1 house. I never flushed again after that.

Yeah. this. I had a friend move into their house, and then have a literal sh**storm indoors and out that cost thousands of dollars in repairs (plus landscaping). The source was tampons that were flushed. Please never ever ever.

Same goes for wipes. they are not flushable. we just paid 5K for that business, after there was poop coming out of all of our shower drains...

Just. Don't.

(to clarify - tampons that were flushed by previous owner and had built up in the line to the sewer line - it might not block your toilet but will block the pipes leading out thus blocking your whole house)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course not. Where you raised in a barn?

Those with menses in the 80s/90s were told to flush.

No, not all parents were uneducated clods.

I got my period in 1994 and was told from the day my mother first had "the talk" with me that I should never, ever, EVER flush a tampon.

DP. Why so rude?! If you really want this message spread for the greater good, maybe don’t be such a jerk? There are clearly lots of people didn’t know. (Myself included.)

It is common sense. Would you flush a sock down the toilet? A diaper? A pad?

No, but I’ve never had a tampon come anywhere close the size of any of those. Nor are they covered in a plastic barrier.

+1. Tampons are much smaller than both those things. I don’t think it’s crazy for someone who doesn’t know better to think you could flush them.

No they aren’t. Put super tampon can grow to the size of deck of cards when totally submerged in water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop being so hard on OP. Yes, flushing tampons is bad. But lots of people never get told this. Think about why.

Women are taught from a young age that periods are gross and offensive, something to be ashamed of and to hide. That is 100% the message I got. And that's how women can go decades flushing tampons without realizing you shouldn't do it. They are doing what they think they are supposed to -- hiding their periods, eliminating all evidence of it, and not talking about it.

You need to be gentle with women in this position. Especially those of you who are younger and were raised with a more progressive, open, not shaming attitude towards periods. It's so great that culture has shifted in this direction, but you need to understand that so many women (including me) are brainwashed into believing periods are embarrassing and disgusting and even once you realize this brainwashing has happened, it takes time to undo it.

I don't flush tampons anymore, thankfully, and I'm teaching my kids that periods are normal, period blood is just a bodily fluid like any other, and that they can ask questions about anything body and bathroom related and shouldn't feel ashamed of any of it. But I still have to deal with some of that shame because it's how I was raised. Have some patience.

Ok, shame or not, considering the major plumbing damage this does, how anyone has reached adulthood and not come to know this escapes me. Sorry, but this really should be common knowledge not to flush.

It should be but it obviously is not. And you can't get mad at people for just not knowing something that no one ever bothered to teach them.

One reason I didn't know for a long time is that no one taught me how to use tampons at all. My mom gave me pads and that's what I used. I think she'd never used tampons at all and might have been raised to believe they were a threat to your virginity or something (my mom was raised intensely conservative Catholic). Anyway, I had to teach myself how to use a tampon when I decided I didn't like pads, and the box said not to flush the applicator. This seemed to imply you could flush the tampon itself, plus flushing a tampon is much easier for someone who is just figuring out how to use them. I honestly thought "Oh, this must be one of the reasons why most people prefer tampons -- it's tidier than a pad that you have to wrap up and put in the trash."

So the point is, lots of people just don't get very good information on period car when they are young. If that bothers you (it bothers me) then look for ways to encourage more responsible period care education, and to demystify and destigmatize talking about periods. But yelling at people for doing something they honestly thought was no only okay but preferable is unproductive. It might make you feel superior, but that's about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course not. Where you raised in a barn?

Those with menses in the 80s/90s were told to flush.

No, not all parents were uneducated clods.

I got my period in 1994 and was told from the day my mother first had "the talk" with me that I should never, ever, EVER flush a tampon.

DP. Why so rude?! If you really want this message spread for the greater good, maybe don’t be such a jerk? There are clearly lots of people didn’t know. (Myself included.)

It is common sense. Would you flush a sock down the toilet? A diaper? A pad?

No, but I’ve never had a tampon come anywhere close the size of any of those. Nor are they covered in a plastic barrier.

+1. Tampons are much smaller than both those things. I don’t think it’s crazy for someone who doesn’t know better to think you could flush them.

No they aren’t. Put super tampon can grow to the size of deck of cards when totally submerged in water.

Ok, so then it’s common sense to people who have done this for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg. Someone find the long thread we just had on this. Please.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/979800.page

But we do this constantly.
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/867543.page
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709813.page
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/538393.page
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/131636.page

Stop flushing anything but the three Ps: pee, poop, and paper.

Yay, I'm so happy you found the thread from 2010 (the last one on your list)! I have never forgotten one post on that thread that made me laugh so hard -- quite entertaining, and worth requoting in full:

"I use OB tampons which do not come with applicators or plastic wrapping that a used tampon can be placed into. I flush. I have always flushed. I will likely always flush. They are not expensive and they are flushable. I do not want a nasty blood soaked tampon sitting in my trash can for a few days nor am I interested in taking the trash out every couple of hours to get rid of the smell of rancid blood. Gross. Also, there is zero chance that even if I did use cheap tampax tampons that come with a flimsy paper wrapper that I would take a blood soaked inflated tampon and try (in futility) to jam it back inside that paper wraper which is going to tear from the wetness. Not only that but then your hands are covered in blood and when you come out of the restroom stall you're going to touch a faucet that other people have to touch in order to wash their hands. That's disgusting on so many levels! Come one people...seriously...flush your damn tampons! Anything else is just flat out disgusting. Also, I think all the anti-flushers on this thread are the same 1-2 people. There's no way there are so many people tossing bloody tampons into the trash."

True then and true now. I am a flusher. I will admit that I feel sort of bad about it, but I'm a very heavy bleeder and I just can't bear to put something so disgusting in my wastebasket and let it fester.

I was taught in health class in 1988 that you could flush tampons in a house with regular plumbing, but not one with a septic system, and if we didn't know, we should toss in the trash. Tampax most definitely did advertise that both the applicator and the tampon were flushable.

There are posts from that 2010 thread that quote from what the Tampax website said at the time: that it was fine to flush a tampon. Just not a plastic applicator.

Today the website says you shouldn't flush any of it, and obviously that is the "correct" answer. I do fear that some giant red ball of tampons is forming under my home .... but I still flush. I am living dangerously.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I raised this debate back in 2010 (or 2011). It got as much back and forth debate as this current one. What I walked away with is NO, you wrap them in TP and toss in the bathroom trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg. Someone find the long thread we just had on this. Please.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/979800.page

But we do this constantly.
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/867543.page
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/709813.page
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/538393.page
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/131636.page

Stop flushing anything but the three Ps: pee, poop, and paper.

Yay, I'm so happy you found the thread from 2010 (the last one on your list)! I have never forgotten one post on that thread that made me laugh so hard -- quite entertaining, and worth requoting in full:

"I use OB tampons which do not come with applicators or plastic wrapping that a used tampon can be placed into. I flush. I have always flushed. I will likely always flush. They are not expensive and they are flushable. I do not want a nasty blood soaked tampon sitting in my trash can for a few days nor am I interested in taking the trash out every couple of hours to get rid of the smell of rancid blood. Gross. Also, there is zero chance that even if I did use cheap tampax tampons that come with a flimsy paper wrapper that I would take a blood soaked inflated tampon and try (in futility) to jam it back inside that paper wraper which is going to tear from the wetness. Not only that but then your hands are covered in blood and when you come out of the restroom stall you're going to touch a faucet that other people have to touch in order to wash their hands. That's disgusting on so many levels! Come one people...seriously...flush your damn tampons! Anything else is just flat out disgusting. Also, I think all the anti-flushers on this thread are the same 1-2 people. There's no way there are so many people tossing bloody tampons into the trash."

True then and true now. I am a flusher. I will admit that I feel sort of bad about it, but I'm a very heavy bleeder and I just can't bear to put something so disgusting in my wastebasket and let it fester.

I was taught in health class in 1988 that you could flush tampons in a house with regular plumbing, but not one with a septic system, and if we didn't know, we should toss in the trash. Tampax most definitely did advertise that both the applicator and the tampon were flushable.

There are posts from that 2010 thread that quote from what the Tampax website said at the time: that it was fine to flush a tampon. Just not a plastic applicator.

Today the website says you shouldn't flush any of it, and obviously that is the "correct" answer. I do fear that some giant red ball of tampons is forming under my home .... but I still flush. I am living dangerously.

This just made me laugh so hard. I too fear what is lurking under my 100 year old house. I swear I thought it was fine. I just got a Mirena inserted and I’m hoping to ride off into menopause with this thing, so I hope to not have to even think about this much longer myself. I’ll teach my daughter to do better. At this point, she wants nothing to do with tampons anyway, so we might be ok for the time being . *knock on wood*

[Anonymous]

I used to flush them and never had an issue and didn't realize you shouldn't. But in the past 5-10 years I've stopped dong it. I'm not sure what caused me to switch but I would never flush now.

[Anonymous]

Anyone that hasn’t yet realized (or doesn’t care) that you don’t flush tampons, deserves all the literal sh*t coming their way. I hope one of you idiots isn’t ever a guest at my house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course not. Where you raised in a barn?

Those with menses in the 80s/90s were told to flush.

I got my period in 1992 and was told from day one by my mother to never, ever flush them.

Me too, and my mother never told me not to flush and she clearly flushed her own, despite us living in a 1940s colonial. I don’t recall anyone ever telling me not to flush tampons, although I’m definitely aware that it can cause clogs. Went to school at a women’s college and there were no signs about not flushing tampons. I’ve seen signs in public bathrooms about not flushing sanitary products, but honestly thought it was just referring to pads as I’ve never heard a person IRL say not to flush a tampon. Glad I’m nearing menopause and won’t have to deal with this for much longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone that hasn’t yet realized (or doesn’t care) that you don’t flush tampons, deserves all the literal sh*t coming their way. I hope one of you idiots isn’t ever a guest at my house

Honestly, spending time on DCUM has con me to never be a guest at anyone’s house ever again. I’m either staying in a hotel or staying home. There are just too many ways I might offend without realizing it. So we’re good.