Q&A about things should you never flush down the drains.

FAQs about items and chemicals are safe or not safe to flush down the toilet and into a private septic system or into a public sewer?

This article series provides a 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.

Q&A on chemicals, objects, and trash items that should not be flushed down the drain

Questions & answers about stuff that should never be flushed down drains into an onsite septic system, posted originally

at NEVER FLUSH INTO SEPTICS - please be sure to see that "never-flush" list.

[Click to enlarge any image]

On 2019-02-06 by (mod) - ok to flush paper toilet seat covers?

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

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

My photo above shows a disposable paper toilet seat cover in place on a toilet at the Chicago O'Hare international airport. This paper seatcover will flush into a public sewer system.

Watch out: I do NOT recommend flushing paper toilet seat covers down a gravity-operated toilet nor into septic tanks.

See NEVER FLUSH INTO SEPTICS

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 2018-08-29 by Holly Kozlowski

I am not training him to go in the box but on the John. A minimal amount of litter will get in the septic until he learns. So I am wondering if a clay litter would be OK.

On 2018-08-29 by (mod) - ok to flush cat litter while I'm training my cat to poop in the toilet?

Never throw cat litter into the toilet.

If you're training a cat to use a litter box the most important thing is not the brand of litter but that you keep it scrupulously clean. If it smells the cat will not want to use it.

On 2018-08-29 by Holly Kozlowski

Hi, I am hoping to toilet train a cat I will be getting. I have my own septic system and wondering if there is a best cat litter. I do not want anything that clumps so I got a clay based litter.

Is that OK? It would be short term until he is trained, and it would probably amount to one 10 bad in the end. Then I started thinking, would rice work as a better substitute? Any thoughts?

On 2018-05-22 by (mod) -

Big

Don't feel bad, your mistake is a small one and not costly compared with ones I've made as well as ones made by national leaders.

If your drains are not currently slow or blocked you should not spend another minute worrying about the flushed baby wipes. That means we got away with it this time.

If you are connected to a private septic system AND provided the septic tank baffles are intact in the tank, the baby wipes will be retained in the tank and will be removed at the next septic tank pumping schedule.

IF your drains are slow, gurgling, clogging, or blocked you might need the drains cleared with a power snake.

Hug the baby for us.

Daniel

On 2018-05-22 by Biggest Idiot

Me, the biggest idiot, because today was the day when I JUST found out that I wasn't supposed to flush baby wipes at all, and yet I've been doing so from time to time these past few weeks.

I'm VERY worried with what is about to come. The toilet and drains are still functioning normally, but this still has me very worried on what will eventually come. Is there anything I can do to make sure that any awful outcome will never happen?

On 2018-04-25 by Anonymous

Thank you

On 2018-04-24 by (mod) -

The answer to your question was posted yesterday just below please read again

On 2018-04-24 by Lauren

Does anyone has an answer to the question I posted yesterday regarding accidentally flashing down the scouring pad? Thanks.

On 2018-04-23 by (mod) -

Lauren,

If the pad makes it into the septic tank then your system will be fine - it's not going to damage anything there, assuming we're talking about a conventional septic system. It'll remain in the septic tank until next pumpout.

If the pad jams in a drain line you'll know.

On 2018-04-23 by Lauren

I accidentally flushed the metal scouring pad (one of those it looks like a piece of the screen) down my toilet while cleaning it, and we have a septic system. I'm very careful usually, will it harm it?

On 2017-10-20 by (mod) -

Pete

Sure, it won't hurt a septic system to empty out a bottle or two of wine into a drain. But if you are operating a winery and have a large volume of wine that needs disposal, that would be a different matter and not something I'd recommend without further investigation.

On 2017-10-20 by Pete

Is it ok to pour wine down drain into septic tank?

On 2017-10-20 by (mod) - ok to flush small amounts of wine down the drain

Pete

Sure, it won't hurt a septic system to empty out a bottle or two of wine into a drain. But if you are operating a winery and have a large volume of wine that needs disposal, that would be a different matter and not something I'd recommend without further investigation.

On 2017-10-20 by Pete

Is it ok to pour wine down drain into septic tank?

On 2017-10-20 by (mod) - plastic cup clogs drain

Jeremy,

Well it's a bit of a surprise that it might take 6 months for a plastic cup to clog a drain, but perhaps, yes. The cup may have moved to a more troublesome spot, or it may have caused an accumulation of solid wastes that finally blocked the drain.

On 2017-07-02 by Jeremy

A small plastic cup, about 1.5" x 1.5", got flushed down a toilet at my friend's house. This happened more than half a year ago. He called me this morning saying both showers and toilets at their house were acting up and draining slowly. Is there any chance the cup is causing it?

On 2017-06-10 by (mod) - ok to flush lime from pickling cucumbers

Shirley,

If you mean dissolved liquid lime, maybe a quart, that's probably harmless because the total concentration of lime in the tank would be miniscule.

If you are operating a commercial pickling operation, no, don't flush large volumes of pickling waste down into a private septic system.

Dumping powdered lime into a toilet is likely to clog pipes.

Dumping large volumes of lime into a septic tank risks killing back bacteria and thus causing the tank to fail to process sewage - shortening the drainfield life.

More details including a calculation of the concentration of lime in a septic from dumping a lime pet dip into a toilet can be read

at
CHEMICALS to KEEP OUT OF SEPTICS

On 2017-06-10 by Shirley smith

Is it okay to flush a small amount of lime down the sink when pickling cucumbers

On 2017-05-12 by (mod) - will a small bit of a toilet paper holder clog the septic system?

Me,

Well chances are the piece of toilet paper holder will float all the way to the septic tank and really do no harm. If it happens to Lodge in a drain line then it may indeed cause clogging Dash and you'll know that if rains appear to begin to be slow or backing up. If you don't have those symptoms in my opinion there's nothing else that's Justified.

On 2017-05-12 by me

Just had a small piece form a toilet paper holder go down the toilet, will this just end up in the septic tank or can it clog it

On 2017-04-16 by (mod) - household cleanser is ok

Sure, Anon. Using a cleanser at normal household usage levels will not harm a septic system.

On 2017-04-16 by Anonymous

When cleaning the toilet bowl, is it ok to use comet as the cleaner in a septic system

On 2017-03-05 by (mod) - do not flush disposable wipes into a septic system

I wouldn't hesitate to use baby wipes. Just toss them into a plastic trash bag that can be closed an disposed-of with household waste. Don't flush them.

Household bleach, in normal usage quantities and levels, ought not be harmful to septic systems.

On 2017-03-05 by Tyee Cambron

I never knew that baby wipes shouldn't be flushed into the city sewage or even septic. Well. That definitely makes cleaning a youngling more difficult and results with less cleanliness. No more fun with the Disney products or Finding Dory products.

And just like most of the listed items to not flush. I can't believe.... wait actually.... For how stupid people are, not knowledge but even knowledge will accidentally or purposely flush the items.

And for my story. I just wanted to look up if I can drain a bleach bucket that I use to clean certain floors and a separate bleach bucket that I use to clean/sanitize certain toy items.

So I really shouldn't flush it. But what the hell am I supposed to do with it? dig a hole in the yard and fill it up with bleach?

On 2017-02-04 by (mod) - chemical used to completely destroy a septic tank on purpose?

Thomad,

I am not aware of any such septic tank destroyer that would be safe to use. Concrete, steel, and plastic or fiberglass tanks are resistant to modest levels of acid and base, but worse, if you had such a material you would be contaminating the environment or risking a fatal explosion. Don't even think about it.

On 2017-02-04 by Thomad -

What could be poured into an industrial sized septic tank to completely destroy it, preferably something that would only take a small quantity?

On 2016-12-03 by (mod) - Is it ok to use cola to clean toilets or to remove stains?

Donna

Dumping a few ounces or even a can of Coke®, Pepsi®, RC Cola® or any other soft drink into a septic system won't hurt the system.

Some of these products are acidic and might help clean a toilet, and indeed letting a mild acid sit for a few hours on some types of stains may improve their removal, but in my opinion you're at risk of falling into another type of pit: that of urban legend. Vinegar and baby oil are also effective at removing some stains.

The effectiveness of any cleaning substance on a specific stain depends on several factors:

The surface being cleaned - of what material is it comprised

The components or ingredients of the stain - a rust stain or lime or calcium stain respond better to mild acids than some other stains

The components or ingredients of the stain removing chemical - no single chemical is best-effective against all types of stains.

• Ciafone, Amanda. "If “Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola” Then “Cold Drink Means Toilet Cleaner”: Environmentalism of the Dispossessed in Liberalizing India." International Labor and Working-Class History 81 (2012): 114-135.
  Abstract:
  
  With the sudden, almost ubiquitous reentry of The Coca-Cola Company to India during economic liberalization, the branded commodity became a sign of both aspirational global consumer-citizenship for India's urban middle class and of corporate enclosure for those dispossessed of material and symbolic resources to fuel this consumption.
  
  Village communities around several of Coca-Cola's rural plants, including in Mehdiganj, Uttar Pradesh, organized against the company's operations, which they accused of exploiting and polluting common groundwater in the production of bottled drinks as an increasing expanse of the country fell into a crisis of water scarcity.
  
  This “environmentalism of the poor” has articulated a powerful critique of corporate globalization and privatization, illuminating the exploitation of the resources of the rural poor for the consumption of those on the other side of an increasingly widening economic divide.
• Varner Jr, Thomas L., Timothy W. Blount, and Charles R. Minns. "Removing stains from fixed items." U.S. Patent 5,522,580, issued June 4, 1996.
  Abstract:
  
  A method for removing various stains from stained fixed items uses an aqueous cleaning composition having a pH of at least about 9.0 and composed of up to about 30 percent by total composition weight of a wetting agent containing 1 to about 5 carbon atoms; between about 3 and about 15 percent by total composition weight of a peroxyhydrate oxidizing agent; and a pH adjustment substance.

On 2016-12-03 by Donna

Was going to use cola as a cleaner in the toilet, after seeing this as a tip. Is it ok to use with a septic tank?
Thanks!

On 2016-12-03 by (mod) - Are biodegradable cleaning products safe for a septic system?

George

Normally, yes. There are some cleaners specifically advertised as "safe for septics", but beware:

Watch out: be sure that you use any cleaning product in the concentration, in the manner, and for the purpose described by its manufacturer. Otherwise your use may be harmful or even dangerous.

For example, at normal household use volumes and concentrations, ammonia, bleach (NEVER USED TOGETHER WITH AMMONIA), vinegar, even cola drinks are safe for septic systems.

On 2016-12-01 by George

Are biodegradable cleaning products safe for a septic system? (purple Power concentrated industrial-strength cleaner degreaser as well as Fabuloso)

On 2016-03-30 by (mod) - Milton Sterilising Liquid safe for use in septics at typical use

Chris

Milton Sterilising Liquid, sold by Milton Baby Care products in 1/2L and 1 litre bottles, is typically used at a concentration of 0.6% (30 ml in 5 litres of water) to sterilise baby bottles, nipples, etc.

At that volume and concentration, that is at most 5L of disinfectant, per day, poured into a septic tank where it will be diluted by about 2000 to 5600 L of wastewater in a typical residential septic tank even before additional wastewater enters the system from daily use, my opinion is that there is no worry that the disinfectant will harm the septic tank.

Milton Pharmaceutical Company (UK) provides an MSDS sheet on this product, indicating thereon that this is a chlorine-bleach type product.

Milton Sterilising Fluid 1%w/v gives 10,000 ppm available chlorine

Milton Sterilising Fluid 2%w/v gives 20,000 ppm available chlorine

Separately at https://inspectapedia.com/septic/Chlorine_in_Septic_Systems.php we discuss the effects of bleach on the septic tank and soakbeds or drainfields.

On 2016-03-30 by chris

Can Milton sterilising liquid go in the Septic tank

On 2016-02-13 by (mod) - do not flush wipes down drains

David Stanley said:

People keep ignoring that wet wipes although flushable don't break down in the sewers and are causing expensive clogs. A better alternative is the Hand Bidet Sprayer which lets you wash with water. It's cleaner, healthier and no clogs.

On 2015-11-17 by (mod) - drain cleaners at normal usage volume and concentration are ok for septics

J.

At normal household use, a drain cleaner, poured into a trap and left for hours or longer, won't damage the septic system . It's using large quantities or using magic bullets that purport to fix a failed septic drainfield that is more dubious.

I like to pour about a half-quart of drain cleaner into the tub drain, let it sit overnight, flush out thoroughly with cold water in the morning.

Keep me posted.

On 2015-11-16 by J. Loeven

Trying to find solution to sluggish bathtub drain to avoid tearing down kitchen ceiling to get to plumbing above. The label of every product in the Home Depot reads "Safe For Septics," or the like. Although I can't believe them all, one or two must be O.K. Any suggestion short of "Tear Down The Ceiling" would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

On 2015-10-09 by (mod) - popsicle stick drain clog risk

Jeannie,

Since the cost to you will be the same if you wait and watch (WITH CAUTION to avoid a sewage backup) for a drain clog as if you call a plumber to snake the drain immediately, I'd watch for signs of a blockage.

A popsicle stick down a sink or shower or tub drain would be stuck in the trap and could easily be fished out or removed by taking off, clearing, and replacing the trap.

But a popsicle stick down the larger diameter of a toilet drain may flow all the way out of your building into the public sewer where it won't be large enough to cause trouble.

On 2015-10-09 by Jeannie tambini

My son flushed a popsicle stick down the toilet of our old house with old pipes yesterday. What should I d?

...

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