These Six Surprising Items Wreak Havoc on Your Plumbing if You Flush Them Down the Toilet

Talk about a mess, and often an expensive one at that.

While we may be pretty cognisant about our kitchen sink, the toilet is often a different matter. From dental floss and cotton swabs to tissues or baby wipes, it seems like anything small and seemingly innocent will be just fine flowing through the pipes with the rush of water.

Oh, how wrong we all are according to the Family Man website and the havoc these items can wreak can be substantial.

Don't even get into the mindset of "every once in a while it's okay to flush this or that" which often turns into a daily or weekly habit down the road. Talk about a major dent in your wallet when you need to call a plumber because not even unclogging products from the store will help according to Best Life Online.

TISSUES AND PAPER TOWELS

Surprising but true according to the Bathroom Nerd website. Whether it's Kleenex or Puffs and even paper towels, these are made from materials that aren’t designed to deteriorate quickly enough after flushing. Your pipe system will not be happy as they can collect over time, too.

GUM

It's sticky, gooey, and doesn't degrade rather it will make a home on your pipes. Even one time can be a disaster.

COTTON SWABS

This super innocent item is a no-no. While the main components of most cotton swabs are biodegradable these easily snag on just about anything and eventually cause clogging issues.

WIPES

Whether it's make-up wipes, sanitized wipes for cleaning, or those you use like toilet paper, don't let the word 'flushable' fool you. This biodegradable item doesn't degrade fast enough so daily flushing of this item could bring you major headaches.

DENTAL FLOSS

Dental floss is one of the worst things you can flush because it's made of Teflon or Rayon, wrapping easily around pipes, is often impossible to remove thus damaging your pipes permanently since it's not biodegradable.

HAIR

It doesn't dissolve in water, period, so even little shavings or a few strands are a big no-no. This seems pretty self-explanatory since we've all had hair clogged in the drain and even the most small amounts of hair will eventually build up.