# To flush or not to flush... your tampons **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915 "2010-08-29T20:54:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/21 "2010-08-29T23:00:53Z")
Oh grody, **Mr. Accident**. I can’t imagine why anyone would flush a pad or a diaper. Or, um…a kitten. I won’t even flush paper towels, much less anything super absorbent. The only thing I flush besides waste is TP. I just took out my garbage, incidentally. It had tampons and I was feeling self conscious. It didn’t smell like rotting blood but hey, why not do something nice for my bathroom? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/22 "2010-08-29T23:02:42Z")
Pansies. I flush a Shamwow once a week, just because I’m a rebel. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/23 "2010-08-29T23:07:49Z")
I’m so glad I use a [DivaCup](http://www.divacup.com) instead of tampons 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/24 "2010-08-29T23:11:00Z")
I agree that the tampons would be gross just sitting in the wastebasket. I have a bagful of plastic disposal bags next to the toilet to use, which is kind of necessary anyways, as I have a dog who will sniff out used sanitary napkins. I have a note on the toilet paper holder that says _“Please, no feminine products (tampons) in toilet – old pipes will clog. Use bags next to toilet to dispose of in wastebasket. Thank you!!!”_ It’s kind of tacky, but it seems to work. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/25 "2010-08-29T23:13:55Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > …And our bathroom doesn’t stink–neither I, the Queen of Obsessive Cleanliness, nor my roommate, the Smeller of All Unbelievably Faint Smells, smell anything off. You two are a match made in roommate heaven! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/26 "2010-08-29T23:18:51Z")
I can’t believe how many people flush them! I vaguely remember that I used to flush mine, until I worked for a plumbing company around fifteen years ago and saw all the damage that those “white rats” can do. Now it doesn’t even cross my mind to flush them, no matter where I am. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/27 "2010-08-30T01:06:40Z")
I’m gonna guess that _very_ few people who’ve spent any real time dealing with clogged plumbing are in the “go ahead and flush 'em” camp. It surely takes an unusually capable (say, top 10%) drain system to handle this consistently & reliably. In most cases, it’s not a matter of whether but when a clog will happen. Once it does, someone is facing a nasty job (for which professional plumbers charge well). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/28 "2010-08-30T03:43:48Z")
I have never had to deal with the plumbing, but I don’t feel like contributing to it. I guess out of habit. It just feels wrong. I have a healthy respect for proper toilet technique I suppose! ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/29 "2010-08-30T03:56:56Z")
> [@Mr.Accident](#): > > A good rule of thumb is, if you don’t have to flush it, don’t. Especially with the decaying infrastructure most American towns have these days. I totally agree with this. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/30 "2010-08-30T04:59:35Z")
I never flush tampons. I know it says you can on the box, but I don’t care. I just can’t bring myself to do it. I do, however, thoroughly wrap them in toilet paper before tossing them. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/31 "2010-08-30T05:14:42Z")
I did when I was younger, before I learned that they can cause major plumbing issues. I switched to reusable supplies a few years ago so it’s never an issue now. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/32 "2010-08-30T12:16:47Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Oh grody, **Mr. Accident**. I can’t imagine why anyone would flush a pad or a diaper. Or, um…a kitten. Yea, I can understand some of the odd things I’ve pulled out of pipes, such as small toys, crayons, car keys, cell phones, etc. Stuff a young child might flush when the parents aren’t looking. Things like diapers and pads always give me a wtf were they thinking moment. I once asked a lady why she had flushed a diaper, and her response was she bundled it really tightly and taped it down, it shouldn’t have been a problem. The kitten really threw me for a loop, as it wasn’t in the s-bend of the toilet, where you might expect it, but in the straight pipe leading from the toilet to the second s-bend before connecting to the main outgoing pipe. My guess is, the kitten had crawled into the pipe the toilet connects to the day before, when the husband had replaced the toilet in an effort to save money on a plumber. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/33 "2010-08-30T12:17:43Z")
A guy i had lunch with last month told me that he just got finished re-finishing his condo. It seems that the toilets on his floor all backed up because someone flushed a tampon down the toilet. He didn’t get back from work for several hours, and the result was thousands of dollars worth of damage. According to him, there’s no question about the cause – it’s not idle speculation. And it was due (almost unbelievably) to a single tampon. So, yeah, there’s a good reason not to do it, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/34 "2010-08-30T12:49:43Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I’m so glad I use a [DivaCup](http://www.divacup.com) instead of tampons 🙂 Yeah, but do you flush it? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/35 "2010-08-30T13:11:21Z")
We have a septic tank. If you come to visit and are menstruating, take your tampons with you when you leave. Or postpone your visit. 😃 ---
**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:** [August 30, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/36 "2010-08-30T13:16:11Z")
> [@Meester\_Tuff](#): > > Recently my girlfriend and I talked about it. She is an avid flusher of tampons, very dedicated to the cause. She does not flush the applicator. She was taught it was rude and impolite to not flush tampons. That’s all very well and good in her house and with plumbing that can handle it. I will say, however, that if she does it at MY house she can damn uncover the septic tank and fish 'em out of the clogged plumbing herself because I know for a fact my sewage system can NOT handle such things. That’s the problem with the “flush 'em” thing - not all toilets/plumbing can handle them. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/37 "2010-08-30T13:29:35Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I flush because I don’t use facilities at places on septic tanks (being a city dweller). But even if I did, I don’t know if I’d be real thrilled about throwing them away. There are few things grosser than a used tampon. At least with a used pad, you can easily use the wrapping from the “fresh” one to wrap it up with, and only one side is gross so you can handle the mess easier. But wrapping a tampon up in toliet paper? I can just see the goo just soaking through the paper. And then everything will stink. Yes. Wrap it up in toilet paper. My bathroom trash can has a plastic liner just in case stuff gets… um… _messy_. It’s got a self-closing lid and it’s emptied frequently. We all produce smelly stuff, so if my bathroom trashcan stinks, if I think about it at all, I’ll just assume it’s from me or the husband and not a guest and empty. And it gets emptied frequently anyway. If you get messy fingers while wrapping a used tampon, well, I supply soap and water at the bathroom sink. Seriously, this isn’t rocket science. > [@](#): > > Also, I don’t know about other women, but sometimes mine will just slip-slide right out of me if I bear down just a little on the toilet (like if I have to poop). What am I supposed to do? Fish it out amist the turds and all the other horrible things in the nasty water? I’m not a germ phobe, but that’s a little too much for my brain to handle. Yes, if you know the toilet can’t handle a tampon you fish it out. Because if you don’t you’ll force some other human being to go into the septic tank to get it out and, trust me, the interior of a septic tank makes what you just put into the toilet look as sterile and clean as a freshly scrubbed operating room. It’s effing rude to _knowingly_ force that situation into existence and, like I said, soap and water is supplied is my bathroom for cleaning up. Let me make the situation at my home clear - I do maintenance on my building as part of getting a lower rent. If you DON’T fish your unmentionable out of the toilet \>I\< will likely be the one who cleans it out of the plumbing. Can you look me in the eye and say “Because I’m too squeamish to fish a tampon out of a toilet bowl you have to go open the septic tank and fish it out of there,”? Could you watch me crack open that tank cover with a smell that can make you puke halfway down the block, with swarms of flies all around, and dig around in there after your manky tampon? I’d say I’d make YOU clean it out of the septic system, but if you’re that afraid of your own floater in the toilet bowl there’s no way in hell you’d be able to handle the job. Don’t force me to do what you are unwilling or unable to do for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/38 "2010-08-30T13:37:03Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Being a male, I’ve never had to flush a tampon. But I have friends who’ve had to clean womens bathrooms at various retail establishments and they rage at women who do this. I remember the time some idiot (blonde?) had flushed a tampon in the (unisex) toilet in my favorite little whisky bar. The patrons were not happy until a plumber had managed to remove the blockage. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/39 "2010-08-30T13:38:30Z")
Sorry if the above came out rather harsh, but seriously, if you want to know what’s grosser than a used tampon it’s a used tampon stuck in the plumbing. ---
**Author:** ![RedWood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f08c70/32.png) [@RedWood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedWood)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915/40 "2010-08-30T13:56:50Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > _“Well, the toilet went crazy Yesterday afternoon > The plumber he says “Never flush a tampoon!” > This great information Cost me half a week’s pay > And the toilet blew up Later on the next day ay-eee-ay”_ > > Courtesy of FZ. my Dad asked me never to flush a tampon or pad. I emptied the bathroom trash morning and evening when I was in his house… I have curious kitty now, so I carry such waste to the covered trash can she can’t overturn. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-flush-or-not-to-flush-your-tampons/551915.md?page=3)