# Don't flush tampons you moron! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 31, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180 "2010-08-31T20:52:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/1 "2010-08-31T20:52:08Z")
There is [a thread in IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12862598) about so-called “flushable” tampons. On one side, we have plumbers and a city sewage Civil Engineer saying “do not flush tampons”. Tampons are specifically designed to do one thing and do it well - to swell up and adsorb liquid, and they will continue to do so in a sewer. On the other side, we have [a selfish idiot.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php) Said idiot claims to live in Milwaukee but somehow magically live in a part of Milwaukee that doesn’t have hundred year old sewage pipes between her and the waste treatment plant. And, because she lives in “…a relatively new building in a big city…” that there is no problem. But those of us who have actually spent hours cutting apart waste stacks and digging out buried pipes disagree with her learned position. I have provided her with [an image of what cast iron pipe looks like inside](http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9793/p1010340.jpg), and unless she has run a sewer camera through every inch of pipe between her home and the waste treatment plant she has _no fucking idea_ of the condition of the pipes. Those of us who \*do \*have some fucking idea have suggested that she carry some ziplock bags to dispose of her used tampons. No muss, no fuss, nicely sealed and you throw that in the trash. And this idiot says “If you’re going to take a really big shit, do you do it in the trash can?” and is apparently stupid enough to think that there is some sort of equivalency between something that dissolves in water and something that does not. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/2 "2010-08-31T20:53:42Z")
Here we go [again](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=519131). ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/3 "2010-08-31T21:33:51Z")
TMI! Here’s a question…on heavy days, your hands can get messy just changing and flushing the tampon. At home, I can lean over to the sink and rinse my fingers. In a public stall…??? I have wrapped my tampons, but thankfully it was at my sister’s house (septic system) and I could lean into the sink to rinse. I have no idea what I would do in a stall. I can wipe my fingers with the .5 micron-ply toilet paper, but blood stinks under the nails. How do I pull up my pants and go to the sink with a bunch of blood on my hands? Do you want that touching your stall doors? I always flush. Sorry guys, but my periods are too heavy to dick around with that kind of stress. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/4 "2010-08-31T21:55:59Z")
**gaffa** , you’re a fucking retard, but I give you credit for actually being the first person to Pit me where others have threatened but backed down. On the other hand, it’s a weak-ass Pitting. I notice you couldn’t even dig up a cite that says that tampons in the system are a problem in Milwaukee. Yawn. Overall, I’d say it averages out to a tepid 4.2. I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine the scale. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/5 "2010-08-31T22:02:31Z")
He needs a cite to prove that flushing tampons are bad? Are you kidding me? C’mon, **Guns** , even if you put on a show here, please stop flushing them. For the sake of people like my friends who have to unclog the toilets afterwards. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/6 "2010-08-31T22:04:44Z")
Wouldn’t it just be easier to switch to pads if your periods are that heavy? Or did I get a wrong impression from a childhood watching The Price is Right complete with commercials showing the amazing absorption of a strange blue liquid? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/7 "2010-08-31T22:05:43Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > I always flush. Sorry guys, but my periods are too heavy to dick around with that kind of stress. Bring a prepackaged moist towelette if your periods are that bad. You’d be touching the stall door with bloodied hands regardless of whether you flushed the tampon or not, it sounds like. I live in a fairly high-end suburb of Chicago and we have those nastily corroded pipes as shown in previous posts. I suspect those are far more common than most people want to believe. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/8 "2010-08-31T22:33:27Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > On the other hand, it’s a weak-ass Pitting. I notice you couldn’t even dig up a cite that says that tampons in the system are a problem in Milwaukee. Yawn. it seems like your sewerage district is too busy with street flooding and raw sewerage discharges that they didn’t get around to writing about tampons. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/9 "2010-08-31T22:52:37Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Wouldn’t it just be easier to switch to pads if your periods are that heavy? Or did I get a wrong impression from a childhood watching The Price is Right complete with commercials showing the amazing absorption of a strange blue liquid? Ew. You clearly are not aware of what pads smell like, my friend. Oh, and you will look like you’re wearing a diaper or have a really fat crotch. Whichever. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/10 "2010-08-31T22:53:54Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > it seems like your sewerage district is too busy with street flooding and raw sewerage discharges that they didn’t get around to writing about tampons. Exactly. Actually, I called the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District but only got a voicemail and have not heard back from anyone yet. As soon as I do, I’ll have _location specific_ proof that **Shot From Guns** is a cretin. If their system is so fucked up that they have accidentally discharged 80 million gallons of raw sewage into the source of my Chicago drinking water used tampons may be the least of their problems - but it is only because their other problems are so colossal. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/11 "2010-08-31T22:56:31Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Wouldn’t it just be easier to switch to pads if your periods are that heavy? Or did I get a wrong impression from a childhood watching The Price is Right complete with commercials showing the amazing absorption of a strange blue liquid? Tangent: no, they’re not the same. Sometimes, if you have a heavy period, you might want to wear a tampon _and_ a bad, but a lot of women–myself included–don’t like wearing a pad alone. They can slip, they can leak, and they don’t keep the area very clean. There’s nothing like marinading in your own juices for a couple of hours on a hot day to make you appreciate the wonder of Tampax. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/12 "2010-08-31T22:57:36Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > > [@johnpost](#): > > > > it seems like your sewerage district is too busy with street flooding and raw sewerage discharges that they didn’t get around to writing about tampons. > > Exactly. Actually, I called the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District but only got a voicemail and have not heard back from anyone yet. As soon as I do, I’ll have _location specific_ proof that **Shot From Guns** is a cretin. If their system is so fucked up that they have accidentally discharged 80 million gallons of raw sewage into the source of my Chicago drinking water used tampons may be the least of their problems - but it is only because their other problems are so colossal. Isn’t it 6 pm in Milwaukee? Of course you got a voicemail, government offices aren’t open all night. And she’s a _cretin_? What’s that thing people around here like to say? Oh yeah: lighten up, Francis. Unless it’s your time of the month, too, and that’s what’s up your ass right now, in which case, rage on, sister. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/13 "2010-08-31T23:01:16Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > TMI! > > Here’s a question…on heavy days, your hands can get messy just changing and flushing the tampon. At home, I can lean over to the sink and rinse my fingers. In a public stall…??? > > I have wrapped my tampons, but thankfully it was at my sister’s house (septic system) and I could lean into the sink to rinse. I have no idea what I would do in a stall. > > I can wipe my fingers with the .5 micron-ply toilet paper, but blood stinks under the nails. How do I pull up my pants and go to the sink with a bunch of blood on my hands? Do you want that touching your stall doors? > > I always flush. Sorry guys, but my periods are too heavy to dick around with that kind of stress. Have you considered the zip-lock bag mentioned previously? Treat it like dog shit [ol] [li]open the bag [/li][li]grasp the bottom of the bag with one hand [/li][li]fold the rest back over your fingers[/li][li]pull tampon out with your nicely plastic-covered fingers[/li][li]pull bag closed [/li][li]zip bag shut[/li][li]throw bag in trash[/li][/ol] Seems easy enough. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/14 "2010-08-31T23:02:31Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Isn’t it 6 pm in Milwaukee? Of course you got a voicemail, government offices aren’t open all night. And she’s a _cretin_? What’s that thing people around here like to say? Oh yeah: lighten up, Francis. Unless it’s your time of the month, too, and that’s what’s up your ass right now, in which case, rage on, sister. I called them when it was only 3 PM in Milwaukee, before I posted this pitting. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/15 "2010-08-31T23:05:05Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > I always flush. Sorry guys, but my periods are too heavy to dick around with that kind of stress. Just curious, how’s the plumbing in your office coming along [13 months later](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11188668&postcount=57) after you were told not to flush tampons but ignored it and continued to flush them anyway? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/16 "2010-08-31T23:10:04Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > it seems like your sewerage district is too busy with street flooding and raw sewerage discharges that they didn’t get around to writing about tampons. > [@gaffa](#): > > Exactly. Actually, I called the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District but only got a voicemail and have not heard back from anyone yet. As soon as I do, I’ll have _location specific_ proof that **Shot From Guns** is a cretin. If their system is so fucked up that they have accidentally discharged 80 million gallons of raw sewage into the source of my Chicago drinking water used tampons may be the least of their problems - but it is only because their other problems are so colossal. Chicago seems to like to gripe about other people’s sewerage because after they got tired of drinking their own, they started giving their sewerage to the Mississippi River. Probably no large old growth metro area on large water bodies does a good deal because it was so easy for them to just dilute it in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/17 "2010-08-31T23:11:39Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > > [@Sateryn76](#): > > > > I always flush. Sorry guys, but my periods are too heavy to dick around with that kind of stress. > > Just curious, how’s the plumbing in your office coming along [13 months later](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11188668&postcount=57) after you were told not to flush tampons but ignored it and continued to flush them anyway? I knew I’d posted about this before! I left there in June, but since my aunt if the office manager, and I’d worked there for so damn long, I get all the stories since then. And since 13 months ago, no plumbing problems to speak of. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![seanchai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@seanchai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seanchai)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/18 "2010-08-31T23:13:19Z")
It does seem odd that intelligent women are fighting tooth and nail to render themselves unable to plan ahead to look after their monthly flow. Fact: tampons are not biodegradable immediately upon entering the sewage system. Fact: tampons damage the sewer system they are flushed into. Solution: Women should be a tad more responsible with their disposals of tampons. You can whine and whinge and moan and shudder, but you cannot escape responsibility for your own actions / lack of planning. You don’t want to think about your responsibility, we get that. However, that’s a preschooler’s solution, not an adult’s. Think it through. And yes, before you look at me with jaundiced eyes, I spent roughly 40 years dealing with the disposal problem myself. Most ladies’ public restrooms still have that brown paper bag in a white plastic container, available for disposal of messy items. an seanchai ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/19 "2010-08-31T23:19:24Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Wouldn’t it just be easier to switch to pads if your periods are that heavy? Or did I get a wrong impression from a childhood watching The Price is Right complete with commercials showing the amazing absorption of a strange blue liquid? For the first four days of my period, I wear both a Super Plus tampon and a “night-time” style pad. I change them every four hours. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180/20 "2010-09-01T00:51:45Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > I can wipe my fingers with the .5 micron-ply toilet paper, but blood stinks under the nails. How do I pull up my pants and go to the sink with a bunch of blood on my hands? Do you want that touching your stall doors? Can you spit? Seriously - wipe your hands as much as possible with the toilet paper, drop it in the bowl, take another few squares of paper, spit to moisten it, wipe fingers again. This should eliminate anything like to go from fingers to anything else long enough for you to zip/drop skirt and get to the sink to do a thorough wash. Or, if you’re too dainty to use spit, use a few squares of toilet paper to shield the world from your icky fingers - just like squeamish germaphobes use a papertowel to handle the door handle to the rest room. > [@](#): > > I always flush. Sorry guys, but my periods are too heavy to dick around with that kind of stress. Do that at my house and I’ll introduce you to Mr. Septic Tank and hand your a plumbing snake. At which point you’ll learn there are worse things to get under your fingernails than a teeny bit of your own blood. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-flush-tampons-you-moron/552180.md?page=2)