Do you flush tampons?

[Anonymous]

Put a (clean) tampon in a glass of water and wait to see how long it takes to "biodegrade."

That photo on page 3 of this thread looks a little like what they dug out of my front yard (Cap Hill) when our basement drains backlogged a year after we bought the house. The guys said they do similar work every other week in DC. It takes one tampon to get stuck in the pipes, and then every one after that gets stuck and before long you have a massive tampon clog.

Thank God we didn't have to pay for the work.

[Anonymous]

I haven't for years, since I moved into a house with 1940's plumbing and started hearing horror stories. I ask my housemates to throw theirs away as well, because i'm the one who'll be paying the plumber if they don't flush well.

If you worry about the smell, take the trash out more frequently. Nobody should be traumatized by seeing a wad of paper in the basket and thinking, "OMG PERIOD!!!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Put a (clean) tampon in a glass of water and wait to see how long it takes to "biodegrade."

That photo on page 3 of this thread looks a little like what they dug out of my front yard (Cap Hill) when our basement drains backlogged a year after we bought the house. The guys said they do similar work every other week in DC. It takes one tampon to get stuck in the pipes, and then every one after that gets stuck and before long you have a massive tampon clog.

Thank God we didn't have to pay for the work.

Maybe someone can figure out a solution to such an obvious DC problem. Maybe it Elon can get on it and SpaceX it.

[Anonymous]

I flushed for decades until my teenager informed me last year I'm not supposed to do so! I swear the instructions on the side of a box when I was a teen said that they could be flushed. I no longer flush them. Given the great diva cup thread, I've just ordered one of those as they sound like a much better option.

[Anonymous]

I flushed for years because I didn’t realize I was supposed to throw hem away. In my last few years of using them, they went into the trash. I’ve had an ablation, and don’t have to worry about these things any more.

[Anonymous]

The ones that had the paper applicator (like when I was a teen), the applicator could technically be flushed, it was just flimsy cardboard. The actual tampon, no.

I grew up with septic and my dad is a plumber. His stories are gag-worthy of having to pull these clogs out of pipes. He always said that tampons and Matchbox Cars paid our bills...apparently lots of kids think flushing cars down the toilet is fascinating. So I've never flushed one, it was never presented as an option.

[Anonymous]

My college friends and I visited the summer home of our of our friends one summer. Randomly, most of us had our periods that weekend and we were all flushing tampons. I'm not sure what the problem was, but a sewage pipe began dumping raw sewage into a large area in the backyard. (We also had a party so there was a lot of sewage.) My friend's dad had to clean it up with a shovel, it took him hours to clear the area of "debris" and he said all the tampons were to blame. We named the pool of sewage Tam Pond. I don't know for sure that the tampons caused the problem, but I do know that not a single one of my friends has ever flushed a tampon since that day.

[Anonymous]

It also quotes WSSC:

https://www.allure.com/story/can-you-flush-tampons-down-the-toilet

[Anonymous]

NEVER! Any plumber could have told you that OP

[Anonymous]

I stopped flushing them a couple years ago after a non tampon-related plumbing issue... we were in a new construction house and the project manager basically said, very embarrassed, “problem is solved but I did see some, um, things that you shouldn’t be flushing”. I use these: http://www.scensiblesource.com. They sell them on amazon, they’re great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped using them over 10 years ago. I had a diva cup, but I prefer Softcups by Instead now. Empty and rinse it in the shower twice a day. Throw it out after your period is done. Use a fresh one next period. 1 box is like $8 and lasts over a year.

Isn’t a cup messy? Are you in the shower to rinse off when changing it?

I prefer to shower twice a day on my period. So when I get in the shower I remove the cup, rinse it, reinsert while I’m squatting over the drain after rinsing it, then I stand up, turn on the shower and take a shower like normal. This eliminates any mess. There’s no need to use a new cup every time you empty it. The box says to throw it away after emptying it, but I’ve reused them for an entire period for a couple years without any problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tried putting them in the trash. My dog likes to get them out of the trash and chew/spread them around the house. That’s far more gross than a clog in the toilet (which in 25 years of having a period hasn’t happened). I risk the clogged toilet.

Well yes, it is gross indeed to have an animal in the house who goes into the trash can to retrieve things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you live in an old DC rowhouse, you should wrap in TP and throw in the garbage. DO NOT FLUSH.

Our line from the house down to the main sewer line under the street got clogged. We had our plumbers do an emergency snaking, since water was backing up in all our basement drains.

The plumber pulled out a tangle of tampons and sanitary pads the size of a softball. IT WAS DISGUSTING and had caused a total blockage.

Who would EVER flush pads!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no, you are not supposed to flush tampons. not sure why you'd need a "ton" of toilet paper, just wrap it in a normal amount and then... put it in the bathroom trash....not sure why this is weird?? obviously you would have a trash bag/liner in the trash can and should empty it regularly.

Why would you not flush it if you have modern plumbing?

Ummm because assuming that it makes it to the sewage treatment plant (big assumption), someone somewhere would have to filter that out, and then put it in the trash for you? Why would you not just be civilized and put it directly in the trash yourself? Or do you think all the tampons just float out into the oceans like that?

Let me guess, you just don't think at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you live in an old DC rowhouse, you should wrap in TP and throw in the garbage. DO NOT FLUSH.

Our line from the house down to the main sewer line under the street got clogged. We had our plumbers do an emergency snaking, since water was backing up in all our basement drains.

The plumber pulled out a tangle of tampons and sanitary pads the size of a softball. IT WAS DISGUSTING and had caused a total blockage.

Who would EVER flush pads!?

No words.