Really? I have a very heavy flow and I’ve never had any trouble wrapping mine up. I guess it’s kind of gross, but people manage with pads, so what’s the big deal with tampons?
I wonder if some sort of deodorized trash can/biodegradable plastic bag dispenser combo would work best for women’s washrooms. Would be nice if there were some free tampons and pads in there, too. Someone should get on this. Possibly the Japanese.
The OP ain’t coming back, is he.
Yeah, but I’ve lived in ::counts on fingers:: six cities and countless apartments and houses, new and old. (And many office buildings.) I’ve only had a plumbing problem once. And if my landlord had told me not to flush them I wouldn’t have. (This was in a house built in the 20’s.)
(As it was he got really pissed at me, and I got pissed at him. I have never ever heard - up until that point - that you shouldn’t flush them. And this was in over a decade of using them.)
I have resumed happily flushing them in the many, many years since, and nope, no problems.
Well since I don’t make a habit of rooting around in bathroom trash cans, yeah, I wouldn’t have any problem with that. Women have been using pads for decades and those have to go in the trash.
Plus they’re tiny. I’ve never had a problem with it. I try to change the garbage a lot more often when I’m menstruating, but other than that…
Either:
[ul]
[li]You dump the shopping cart down a street access hole into the sewer, [/li]or
[li]A homeless person is living in one of the tunnels/caves connected to the sewer system, with their shopping cart, and it is swept away when the flow rises in the tunnel[/li][/ul]
Wrapping up a pad is easier than wrapping up a tampon, because you can just fold the pad in half and handle it from the glue side only and not get all bloody. Wrapping up a tampon, IME, involves a little more dexterity if you want to keep your fingers clean/avoid clots from falling off, etc. Not everyone wants to deal with that, because it’s somewhat squicky.
I have a related issue; you know those bins with paper bags in them that are supposed to be used for “feminine waste”? There doesn’t appear to be a standard on what to do with those, and it drives me crazy. From what I’ve seen,
-
Everyone stuffs things into one bag until the magical bathroom fairies take it away, and then another bag is opened up
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You’re supposed to used a single bag and dump it in the garbage outside the stall, but no one does this, so at best you get a bin full of individually used bags with additional stuff piled on top of them
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People ignore all the bags and just drop pads, tampons and applicators/waste into the bin, resulting in disgusting bins and blood covered bags that are never used.
Could someone please come up with a more logical, more universally understood system? Bags in a dispenser, bin beside it or something? Thanks!
I’m thinking of a toilet with a 2 hp chopper pump. Hell, for both men’s and women’s restrooms.
Exactly. And I think that solution is already out there, at least, I’ve seen adds for something similar for basement toilets so the, um, outgoing stuff can be pumped down a much smaller pipe than a usual waste stack.
Or some other solution along the mechanical/engineering line.
Because the people in the OP’s situation are faced with a problem that can be solved by doing something once (by fixing the plumbing) or by convincing an unending stream of people to change their behavior to something less convenient to them.
Any bets on which is more likely to succeed?
Another solution: use a menstrual cup!! No waste! Many of us have been proselytizing for menstrual cups here for years, and they really are leaps and bounds better than pads and tampons - and the tampon/toilet clog thing is just another good reason to use cups.
Even during my heaviest flow, I only have to change it twice a day. I haven’t spent a dime on disposable menstrual products in years, and I haven’t contributed to any landfills or clogs! They’re comfortable, don’t leak, easy, clean and odor-free. I’m surprised that so many women are still using such antiquated things as pads and tampons.
I’m still here, just not sure where to chime back in. I wasn’t imagining this rant going to 2+ (probably 5+ by the end) pages.
And if you hold one to your ear you can hear Tori Amos!
… In all seriousness though, I am totally Team Menstrual Cup. Back in my tampon-slinging days I might have heeded a polite sign about not flushing, but only if you’d made your lavatories functional - paper, some fragrance other than eau di latrine, a locking door, a seat and a bin would all go some way to increasing my menstrual co-operation. I never would have considered that I were doing something considered obnoxious had it not been pointed out.
Hee. Singularly funny. Well played.
I tried these years ago. Like, maybe in the 70s when I saw the first ones. I Could. Not. Insert it properly. They’re kind of gigantic!
What 's up with the “Fix the plumbing” chorus? What’s to fix before it overflows? A clog or tangled up chains and floats caused by foreign objects?
Usually a mechanical failure is caused by junk in the works, clear the junk out and it starts flowing again.
Another enemy of sewer systems is grease. That scum can harden and also gum up the plumbing works. How does a restaurant deal with grease and food scraps in the kitchen, do they also rinse it down the drain or dispose of it separately?
This is fascinating. I’ve been using tampons for almost 30 years and I never knew you could flush them. Guess I never read the box before.
I grew up in a house with old plumbing and so was taught not to flush. I just assumed no one flushed them.
Apparently I am quite talented though, since even on my heaviest, clottiest days I have manged to wrap the tampon up without slinging blood anywhere or getting any on my hands. Also, I have never had issues with the smell. I just empty my wastebasket twice a week on trash days and that seems to work.
I agree with the majority of posters so far, put up a sign. It isn’t going to stop everyone from flushing them, but it might cut back the problem a little.
That’s it. I am definitely off of lunch.
Why, were you planning on having blood pudding?
No, chunky tomato soup.
I think I’ll go with the cream of broccoli.