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PHOTOGRAPH of perscription drug being poured into a toiletThings Should NEVER Be Flushed Down the Toilet
Avoid drain clogs & septic system clogging

What things should you never flush down the drains and into a septic tank?

What items and chemicals are safe to flush down the toilet and into a private septic system? What may damage the septic tank or leach fields?

This document explains how to extend the life of the septic system by being careful about what goes into it.

Discussed: List of chemicals, objects, and trash items that it would be should NEVER be flushed down a toilet Cat litter, dryer sheets, disposable diapers, drugs, coffee grounds, & lots of other stuff should not go into the septic tank nor down a drain into a public sewer.

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List of chemicals, objects, and trash items that should NEVER be flushed down a toilet

LARGER VIEW of
a really cute and newest grandson whose mother knows to never ever flush a diaper down the toilet. at TOILETS, DON'T FLUSH LIST we introduce the topic of stuff that should not be flushed down drains and into septic systems, and we explain the sorts of problems that can occur: drain clogging, sewage backups into buildings, costly septic system failure, and environmental contamination.

Here we list items that should never be flushed down a building drain much less onwards into a septic tank.

Here are examples of other things that should not be flushed down a toilet nor down any other building drain (and onwards into the septic tank):

Plumbing drain should not receive these chemical contaminants (C) Daniel Friedman

PHOTOGRAPH of
a really really cute baby wearing a newborn nappy that should NOT be flushed down the toilet.

Photo of spilling cat litter into a toilet

This warning includes those "clumps" of cat litter from special clumping litter that solidifies around cat urine or cat feces.

It's tempting to just toss these clumps of animal waste into the toilet and flush away. But clumps of cat litter or cat litter bound by cat urine add to the solid waste load in the septic tank.

Our photo (left) shows conventional cat litter in a glass of water. There can be no doubt that this material settles to the bottom of a septic tank where it adds to the solid layer just as you see in this lab photograph.

After a month our TEST of KITTY LITTER in the SEPTIC TANK [image] showed that the clay material remained intact, settled on the bottom of our test glass.

Zeolite is the prime ingredient in cat litter. This clay-like material is used in other products and has even been under experimentation for use in capturing radioactive material [atReferences or Citations ] in ground water near Lake Erie.

What about other cat litter products that are advertised as "flushable" kitty litter? Some of these products, described as biodegradable, are made of processed newsprint, corn cobs, or wheat by-products.

OPINION: with the data at hand we do not believe that these products should be put into the septic tank unless their total monthly volume is absolutely trivial (a cubic foot or less). All cat litter products add solid waste or floating scum layer waste that adds to the septic system load.

Certainly we wouldn't flush newspapers down a toilet in any form. Nor corn cobs nor wheat. It is unlikely that these products dissolve in the septic tank in the same manner that does toilet tissue. Even if such a product does "dissolve", if it is present in volume it may interfere with septic tank bacterial action.

FACT: We don't know how these flushable products actually perform in the septic tank - do they float, settle, or dissolve? Is there independent supporting research by any of the sellers?

Meanwhile, if cat litter of any form has already been flushed into the septic tank it may be useful to open and pump the septic tank ahead of schedule, evaluate the level of solids in the tank, and in the future, open, pump, and inspect more often where these products are in use, until hard evidence shows that there is no discernable increase in the volume of solids, floating scum layer, nor interference with bacterial action in the septic tank. (Research reports are invited.)

The cost to clean out clogged septic or sewer lines tells a the story. We recommend that you dispose of kitty litter waste in sealed garbage bags, not in your toilet.

cat litter test (C) DJ Friedman

LARGER VIEW underpants
being fished out of a toilet drain after a grandson flushed his new underpants down the drain during toilet training.

Don't Flush Disposable Wet Wipes, Diapers, Dryer Sheets, Cloth into toilets

We have moved this information to a separate article now found at DISPOSABLE WET WIPE CLOGS

Watch out: Do not flush "disposable" wet wipes, baby wipes, clothes dryer sheets, sanitary napkins, nor any cloth or fabric waste into toilets anywhere, regardless of whether the toilet is connected to public sewer or private septic system.

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2020-05-22 - by (mod) -

Dennis

Good grief, that is absolutely crazy advice and completely mistaken.

In fact nitrogen at excessive levels is a soil contaminant that is characteristic of septic spillage where it doesn't belong or of septic system failure.

NO septic treatment is necessary for a conventional septic system - and some are harmful.

See details at SEPTIC TREATMENTS & CHEMICALS https://inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Tank_Treatments.php

The only exception I've found to that guideline is that some septic systems, including some aerobic septic systems, use a disinfectant that is added to clarified effluent before it is dispersed.

Don't add nitrogen pellets to your septic system.

On 2020-05-22 5 by Denis

It was suggested by our property's previous owner to flush 1 cup of nitrogen pellets into our septic system through the toilet...
Is this a safe practice ??

On 2019-04-09 - by (mod) -


Toilet seat sanitary covers, Chicago O'Hare Airport (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com)

Holly

The women enthusiasts for toilet seat covers ought to be joined by men. Certainly I've been put off by peed-on toilet seats in mens toilets, principally at public toilets.

I think paper toilet seat covers are a variation on toilet paper - but the paper does not (in my OPINION) break down or soften as rapidly as toilet tissue.
Therefore my first concern is a risk of clogging the building sewer line or drain ahead of the septic tank.

Where I"ve seen paper toilet seat covers in use they've been on power-flush toilets such as those operated by a flushometer or Sloan valve such as those I discuss at

FLUSHOMETER VALVES for TOILETS URINALS https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Flushometer_Valves.php

Those are flushing (usually) into a larger diameter public sewer and are using a more-forceful flush water dose as well.

So I don't recommend flushing paper toilet seat covers down a gravity-operated toilet nor into septic tanks.

See NEVER FLUSH INTO SEPTICS at https://inspectapedia.com/septic/Never_Flush_in_Toilets.php

Instead perhaps we can offer a more assertive program of bathroom inspection and cleaning.

On 2019-02-06 by Holly

What about toilet seat covers and septic systems? We have an office in town but it is on its own septic system and the women want toilet seat covers. Yes or no???

On 2012-12-18 - by (mod) -

Concerned,

Are there chemicals in your boiler? If so, depending on what they are, indeed you might be harming the septic tank bacteria. Boiler drainage might be acidic or otherwise not a great idea, though if the volume were trivial so probably would be the impace.

I have not tried building a list of the chemistry of boiler additives, rather my approach has been to look up the MSDS for the specific boiler additive in question. That's where we can find the answer. If you know what chemicals were used in your boiler let me know and I'll be glad to dig into it if you don't yourself.

On 2012-12-17 by Concerned

Had a phone call this morning which alarmed me from the get go....A company wanted to drain the boiler system into the septic system and said it wouldn't harm the system....I strongly disagree from a matter of knowledge I have on this subject matter....do you have a accurate list of "boiler chemicals" that can or can not be flushed into a septic system?

On 2012-10-05 - by (mod) -

Anon, about flushing coffed grounds down the drain,

the typical volume of coffee grinds that might be put into a cesspit won't injure it chemically, but adding any low or non-biodegradable material to the system will in the case of a cesspit (cesspool) shorten its life, and in the case of a septic tank, mean that it needs to be pumped more often.

And some septic systems can be seriously damaged or clogged, leading to a need for costly repairs. In the article above read about coffee grounds and you'll find a link to comments by an aerobic septic system manufacturer who explains the problem further.

On 2012-10-05 - by (mod) -

Otto,

No one should be flushing fertilizer down a drain nor into a septic system. But perhaps you are asking about something else.

On 2012-08-11 by otto bahn

Anything known about organic and non organic fertilizers in tanks?

On 2012-06-22 by Anonymous

why cant you put coffee grinds into a ses pit

On 2011-11-27 - by (mod) -

Saone, the impacts of flushing improper materials into a septic tank include:

- pipe clogging and sewer backups
- added solid volume to the septic tank increasing the need for more frequent pumping
- damage to the bacteria in the septic tank resulting in under-treatment of the septic effluent before it is discharged to the drainfield, resulting in turn in a shorter drainfield life and very costly drainfield repairs

On 2011-11-23 by saone bikitshane

what are the impacts of doing this.


...

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