STUFF IN TOILETS

[Mercellus Bohren]

I was flossing my teeth the other morning and I threw
my used dental floss into the toilet. My wife said that I
should not put dental floss in the toilet because it can cause
objects to get tangled up in the floss down the line. She also
mentioned that cotton balls shouldn't get thrown in either.

I've seen some pretty large objects make it down the toilet
during the flush cycle. Amazingly large objects. I don't see
how dental floss or cotton balls really could cause that much
of a problem.

This is some internet hoax thing right?

[GrtArtiste]

Anything that isn't going to naturally decompose shouldn't go into the
toilet, IMHO. This is especially true if you have a septic tank instead
of a sewer. Feel free to disagree.

GrtArtiste

[Futbol Phan]

Where's Joe the Plumber when we need him?

[Rhino]

This is a troll, right? Otherwise, you shouldn't have crossposted to
rec.arts.tv, alt.atheism and rec.sport.football.college or alt.politics
since they have nothing to do with plumbing...


--
Rhino

[%]

neither does your reply

[Robert]

On Apr 8, 3:46 pm, GrtArtiste <nineo...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Anything that isn't going to naturally decompose shouldn't go into the
> toilet, IMHO. This is especially true if you have a septic tank instead
> of a sewer. Feel free to disagree.
>
> GrtArtiste

That is ABSOLUTELY correct..... I have dealt with both rural and
urban septic systems. If a line is connected to the city, you can
get away with a lot since it is the city that has to come out and
clear the line in case of a backup.
However, septic systems in rural areas that use septic tanks
are very sensitive to solid matter. If it can't be forced through a
1/16 inch hole in the drain fiels (for certain systems) it will be a
big big problem that may result in the entire drainfield having to
be replaced eventually.
The biggest offender is grease, which never dissolves and
eventually starts to clog up the drainfield. I've seen massive
blobbs of grease that had to be cleaned from a septic tank,
which ,normally should be pumped out every 8-10 years to clear
out the sludge, but it depends on the type of septic field used.

In short, if you put the solid matter in a jar of water, and shake
it
up, and it doesn't dissolve into almost nothingness, it shouldn't be
put in the toilet.

In fact, special toilet paper is made for certain septic systems,
especially those used in RVs......

... and, while we are at it, use garbage disposals at your own
risk..... it doesn't chop the scraps up fine enough to pass thru the
tiny holes.......

It's a complex subject, which most people never learn about until
they have a massive, expensive problem.

[%]

i have an outhouse , yay

[Ashton Crusher]

This seems wrong to me. Anything that can be "digested" by bacteria
should be OK regardless of the size, within reason of course. I don't
see any reason the normal organic food waste that goes thru a garbage
disposal would be a problem due to the "tiny holes". The problem
would most likely just be that the more stuff you run thru the
disposal, the more stuff there is in the tank that needs to be
digested by the bacteria. At some point it's getting fed more crap
then it can digest in the available time.

[Frank]

I've got a septic and agree with other comments.
Think someone here had a clogged toilet due to all the floss catching
together.

[Robert]

On Apr 8, 6:58 pm, Ashton Crusher <d...@moore.net> wrote:

> This seems wrong to me. Anything that can be "digested" by bacteria
> should be OK regardless of the size, within reason of course. I don't
> see any reason the normal organic food waste that goes thru a garbage
> disposal would be a problem due to the "tiny holes". The problem
> would most likely just be that the more stuff you run thru the
> disposal, the more stuff there is in the tank that needs to be
> digested by the bacteria. At some point it's getting fed more crap
> then it can digest in the available time.

Grease, cotton balls, dental floss, toy soldiers, coarse cellulose
are not digested by bacteria...
I am not certain about bone scraps, chopped cabbage or greens,
or many kinds of vegetable matter..... I guess it could be determined
by putting it in a jar of water and looking at it in six months, but
having seen a lot of pond scum in my life, I really doubt it....

Many people just dump everything in the sink and it goes away.
That might work with city sewer, but it sure doesn't work
in rural septic tank systems.... and there are many types of
rural systems..... none of which like undigestable solids......

If you can eat it, and it doesn't turn brown in your gut, it
probably
won't in your septic tank either.....

[Oren]

On Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:01:30 -0400, Frank
<frankdo...@comcast.net> wrote:

>Think someone here had a clogged toilet due to all the floss catching
>together.

'The thread was: "Dental floss toilet beast (must see)"

Has photo links of a monster...

<https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/alt.home.repair/SuFKt95KRjU>

[Kicking Ass and Taking Names]

On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 16:09:25 -0700 (PDT), Robert
<jungl...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we are required to pump our
septic tanks every five years. In fact, I gotta call tomorrow about
pumping mine.

[NapalmHeart]

"Mercellus Bohren" <merce...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c46f54b6-f472-47c8...@v20g2000yqj.googlegroups.com...

Convicts use their toilets like trash cans and then cry when they get
plugged up. I deal with it a lot.

If it isn't toilet paper or something that came out of your body it
shouldn't go in a toilet. Have to agree with your wife.

Ken

[%]

i have to move my outhouse every 3 years

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Disculpa Senora Robert, pero did you really mime the following on
4/8/2013 7:09 PM???

What about stinkbugs? I regularly flush them down the toilet.

--
There lived a sage in days of yore
And he a handsome pigtail wore
He wondered much and sorrowed more
Because it hung behind him

[GrtArtiste]

I am in NW OH and have lived here since 1996. With 1 exception (4 yrs)
we have pumped our 1500 gal septic tank every 3 years. Is that too much?
Don't know...but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

GrtArtiste

[Father Haskell]

On Apr 8, 9:03 pm, "%" <pers...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> i have to move my outhouse every 3 years

Why? Can't you afford the mortgage?

[%]

well i could if you'd pay your rent for the basement apartment

[Father Haskell]

On Apr 8, 7:09 pm, Robert <junglean...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>      ... and, while we are at it, use garbage disposals at your own
> risk..... it doesn't chop the scraps up fine enough to pass thru the
> tiny holes.......

A trenching shovel and a bag of quicklime is preferred here.

[Bob F]

Unless your pipes are polished smooth everywhere inside, floss, or anything else
you flush can catch on a rough edge somewhere, and begin the accumulation of a
clog.The difficulty of dropping floss in a wastebasket is way less than the
difficulty of roto-rooting out your main drain after a sewage flood in the
basement.

I live in a 90 yo house, and choose not to use the disposal for similar reasons.
Old pipes are guaranteed to have rough interiors that would catch floss if given
enough chances.

[Bob F]

I guess that says it all.

[The Daring Dufas]

OH MY GOD! You know they mutate in the septic tank and emerge as
politicians! o_O

TDD

[The 'Brightness' control still doesn't help]

If you strangle the sewer gators when they're young, they won't eat
yer arse...

[xyzzy]

I have a tool (sludge judge) that measures the level of solids in my
tank. In 13 years its never had to be pumped.

[Stormin Mormon]

What happens if they are also exposed to radiation?
.
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
.
"The Daring Dufas" <the-dari...@stinky-finger.net> wrote in message
news:kk087j$jn8$1...@dont-email.me...

[Hugh Janus]

So you have a *tool*, that you call your *sludge judge* that you
measure solids with?

NTTAWTT.

[dadiOH]

How much sludge is removed? I had ours (1000+- gallons, two people) pumped
after seven years and there was so little I made myself a note to think
about pumping again in 15 years.

If the septic tank is sized and working properly and if you don't dump in
non-biodegradable stuff then why pump?


--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

[dadiOH]

Mercellus Bohren wrote:
> I was flossing my teeth the other morning and I threw
> my used dental floss into the toilet. My wife said that I
> should not put dental floss in the toilet because it can cause
> objects to get tangled up in the floss down the line. She also
> mentioned that cotton balls shouldn't get thrown in either.
>
> I've seen some pretty large objects make it down the toilet
> during the flush cycle. Amazingly large objects. I don't see
> how dental floss or cotton balls really could cause that much
> of a problem.
>
> This is some internet hoax thing right?

Dental floss can be either silk or one of several plastics. The silk is
biodegradable, the plastics aren't. Regardless, I wouldn't flush floss -
even if we didn't have a septic system - because of the possibility of
mechanical tangling. Like plant roots.

Just as easy to toss it in a waste basket.

[HeyBub]

Mercellus Bohren wrote:
> I was flossing my teeth the other morning and I threw
> my used dental floss into the toilet. My wife said that I
> should not put dental floss in the toilet because it can cause
> objects to get tangled up in the floss down the line. She also
> mentioned that cotton balls shouldn't get thrown in either.
>
> I've seen some pretty large objects make it down the toilet
> during the flush cycle. Amazingly large objects. I don't see
> how dental floss or cotton balls really could cause that much
> of a problem.
>
> This is some internet hoax thing right?

Not a hoax at all.

Sufficient dental floss will clog your system resulting in (potentially)
thousands of dollars of expense to sort out the resulting mess. Other things
that have the same potential:

* Anything not human waste or its accessories (i.e., toilet paper).
* Any non-fluid substance.

[Ubiquitous]

merce...@yahoo.com wrote:

>I was flossing my teeth the other morning and I threw
>my used dental floss into the toilet. My wife said that I
>should not put dental floss in the toilet because it can cause
>objects to get tangled up in the floss down the line. She also
>mentioned that cotton balls shouldn't get thrown in either.
>
>I've seen some pretty large objects make it down the toilet
>during the flush cycle. Amazingly large objects. I don't see
>how dental floss or cotton balls really could cause that much
>of a problem.
>
>This is some internet hoax thing right?

Finally figured out how to use a real Internet account, Newp*rt?

--
"Right now, the president is not solving the budget chaos because he
doesn't want to cut federal spending. That's the truth. And the spinners
are misleading you. They are lying to you. That makes me angry. So you
saw that and will most likely see it again in the future."
-- Bill O'Reilly

[fur...@mail.croydon.ac.uk]

On 9 Apr, 18:12, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

I used to live in an old house, turn of the 19th century, where the
houses on each side of the street were connected together in blocks
of, I think, six. They were connected together at the back from
toilets and kitchens, and at the front from bathrooms. The back
connection then joined the front one, and the whole lot then went out
into the sewer in the road. The next house started a new block of
six, etc. I was unlucky enough to live in the last house, where the
connection went out to the sewer, so if anybody in any of the six
houses flushed something unsuitable which blocked the system it would
come up in the inspection pit outside my house, and if it wasn't
cleared quickly, it would seep into my cellar, sometimes unnoticed for
several days. This would happen about once every year or two, and
since the blockage was at my house it was my responsibility to clear
it, whoever had caused it. I used to have to borrow a set of drain
rods from work to clear it.

By far the most common cause was old-fashioned looped sanitary towels,
followed by babies nappies (diapers). Please don't try to flush this
stuff; whoever has to clear it won't thank you for it.

[Mercellus Bohren]

The internet has been useful. No more dental floss,
cotton balls, or Kleenex in the toilet for me. By
the way, to whomever continues to mark this message
as unsuitable, please stop. This message thread is
harmless and was cross-posted just for fun.

[micky]

On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 13:31:22 -0700 (PDT), Mercellus Bohren

<merce...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>I was flossing my teeth the other morning and I threw
>my used dental floss into the toilet. My wife said that I
>should not put dental floss in the toilet because it can cause
>objects to get tangled up in the floss down the line. She also
>mentioned that cotton balls shouldn't get thrown in either.
>
>I've seen some pretty large objects make it down the toilet
>during the flush cycle. Amazingly large objects. I don't see
>how dental floss or cotton balls really could cause that much
>of a problem.
>
>This is some internet hoax thing right?

I'm certain she's right. Floss may be thin, but it's strong.
Sometimes it will get flushed to the main sewer but other times, it
will form a web and catch other things. It may take months, so you
won't even remember what you put in the toilet.

I'm 66 years old and neither my parents in my lifetime or I have ever
had a stopped toilet or other drain. It's because the only thing that
goes done the toilet is feces and toilet paper. Not Kleenex but
toilet paper, which is designed to fall apart in water. It's so
simple.

And despite what I'm told it says on the packaging, tampsons shouldn't
go into the toilet either.
>
>
>

[micky]

On Mon, 8 Apr 2013 16:09:25 -0700 (PDT), Robert
<jungl...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> It's a complex subject, which most people never learn about until
>they have a massive, expensive problem.

That's true too. A friend with a house he bought only a couple years
earlier had trouble flushing the toilet and the plumber told him he
had to dig up his front lawn and put in a new line (I guess plastic
instead of tile) But another friend who lived nearby said he just
called the city and they cleaned their part, and that was the end of
the problem. Of course my friend didn't put dental floss in the
toilet.

[micky]

On Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:02:19 -0400, Zaphod Beeblebrox
<victor...@verizon.net> wrote:

>
>
>What about stinkbugs? I regularly flush them down the toilet.

Do you have a septic tank. Do you flush them one or two at a time?
Is there a net of floss or cotton ball waiting to catch them and trap
them?

i don't know what they'll do, but it never occurred to me to flush
mine. I took them outside and emptied the shop-vac on the yard.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Disculpa Senora micky, pero did you really mime the following on
4/9/2013 7:57 PM???

> On Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:02:19 -0400, Zaphod Beeblebrox
> <victor...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> What about stinkbugs? I regularly flush them down the toilet.
>
> Do you have a septic tank.

No

> Do you flush them one or two at a time?

One at a time - alive but ensconsed ina piece of TP.

> Is there a net of floss or cotton ball waiting to catch them and trap
> them?
>

No that I know of.

> i don't know what they'll do, but it never occurred to me to flush
> mine. I took them outside and emptied the shop-vac on the yard.
>

You vacuum the bastards?

[micky]

On Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:15:41 -0400, Zaphod Beeblebrox

<victor...@verizon.net> wrote:

>Disculpa Senora micky, pero did you really mime the following on
>4/9/2013 7:57 PM???
>> On Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:02:19 -0400, Zaphod Beeblebrox
>> <victor...@verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> What about stinkbugs? I regularly flush them down the toilet.
>>
>> Do you have a septic tank.
>
>No
>
>> Do you flush them one or two at a time?
>
>One at a time - alive but ensconsed ina piece of TP.

I must admit, if you don't squeeze them I don't think they make any
smell. I think one "source" said they made the smell when scared but
from experience, I don't believe that.

>
>> Is there a net of floss or cotton ball waiting to catch them and trap
>> them?
>>
>No that I know of.

You're probably okay. Sometimes an undigested corn kernel or several
comes out of me and stink bugs are only about twice that size.

>> i don't know what they'll do, but it never occurred to me to flush
>> mine. I took them outside and emptied the shop-vac on the yard.
>>
>
>You vacuum the bastards?

Was it last summer or the summer before that they first showed up? in
Maryland? I think it was the summer before. I had loads of them. The
radio said to put some water in the bottom of a shop-vac and put some
liquid dish soap into that, and vacuum them up. The soapy water would
kill them.

It took parts of 3 or 4 days and I had 200 or 300 when I emptied the
vac on the grass. For a month or two I would see a layer of bodies
on top of the grass, but eventually the grass grew and I guess they
fell down to the dirt.

After I poured out the first bunch, I continued vacuuming but without
the water or soap. I would stuff a paper towel in the mouth of the
input tube so they couldn't get out during the 24 or 48 hours between
vacuum sessions. I never saw one climb out thought the output air
vents, which surround the motor iirc.

Last summe there weren't many and I just ignored them, because they
said of a very wet winter, but I heard this winter that there would be
several times as many this summer. Sort of like a weather
report--who knows if it will be accurate!

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Disculpa Senora micky, pero did you really mime the following on

4/9/2013 9:00 PM???

<snippy>

>> You vacuum the bastards?
>
> Was it last summer or the summer before that they first showed up? in
> Maryland? I think it was the summer before. I had loads of them. The
> radio said to put some water in the bottom of a shop-vac and put some
> liquid dish soap into that, and vacuum them up. The soapy water would
> kill them.
>
> It took parts of 3 or 4 days and I had 200 or 300 when I emptied the

Whoa, whoa, WHOA!

Did you actually say 200-300?

WTF?!!!

Where do you live in Maryland, man? I get one or two every week that I
flush down the toilet - what you have is a freaking invasion of major
proportions.

200 to 300? I'd run to Hawaii...

[Jason]

In article <8sd9m8hfuhh52ovud...@4ax.com>, micky

I saw a funny cartoon.

The commode said to the homeowner when he walked into the bathroom: "I'm
sick and tired of your shi."

[micky]

On Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:38:07 -0400, Zaphod Beeblebrox
<victor...@verizon.net> wrote:

>Disculpa Senora micky, pero did you really mime the following on
>4/9/2013 9:00 PM???
>
><snippy>
>
>>> You vacuum the bastards?
>>
>> Was it last summer or the summer before that they first showed up? in
>> Maryland? I think it was the summer before. I had loads of them. The
>> radio said to put some water in the bottom of a shop-vac and put some
>> liquid dish soap into that, and vacuum them up. The soapy water would
>> kill them.
>>
>> It took parts of 3 or 4 days and I had 200 or 300 when I emptied the
>
>Whoa, whoa, WHOA!
>
>Did you actually say 200-300?

Maybe closer to 200. But these were all INdoors. I have a pile of
used fence pickets on the back deck, and when I picked up a picket, I
might find stinkbugs there too, but I never tried to kill them. The
pile is right below my bedroom window. I have a screen in the bedroom
window, but after 34 years, the fuzzy stuff around the edge of the
screen has one gap in it of about an inch. Maybe they get in that
way. Or maybe a couple got in in the early spring when I used to not
use the screen, since in the past, there were no bugs that time of
year.

>
>WTF?!!!
>
>Where do you live in Maryland, man?

NW suburban Baltimore. Near Liberty Road and the Beltway.

It used to be that flying bugs in general would hang around the
ceiling light fixture (which I installed, for those of you reading
home.repair) but now it has compact fluorescents and they aren't hot
enough to kill the bugs. Still there are quite a few dead ones there
now. It must be that they grew old and died while they were hanging
out there, but I want them to die young.