Can You Flush Tampons Down The Toilet?

Tampons, sanitary pads and panty liners are essential for menstrual hygiene. Most manufacturers clearly label these products, advising against disposing of them by flushing them down the toilet.

Even the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends against the practice in its menstrual hygiene guidelines. Despite that, it is a common practice and if unaddressed, it can cause severe clogs and require you to call an emergency plumber. 

Learn why it’s important not to flush tampons down the toilet, how they can lead to plumbing emergencies, ways to prevent these issues and what steps to take if you’ve accidentally flushed a tampon.

Can You Flush Tampons Down the Toilet? 

Although flushing tampons down the toilet might seem like a quick and convenient solution to dispose of them, virtually every personal hygiene product manufacturer recommends against it. 

Tampons are highly absorbent and designed to maintain their overall shape and expand when filled with liquid. Although they may appear to be made of similar materials, toilet paper disintegrates when exposed to water. For this reason, manufacturers strongly advise against flushing tampons down the toilet. 

The proper way to dispose of a tampon and avoid needing an emergency plumber near you is to place it in the regular trash. Wrap the used tampon in toilet paper or a tissue and put it in a bathroom trash can.

Why Flushing Tampons Can Cause a Plumbing Emergency

When fluids come in contact with a tampon, its fibers absorb and hold it, causing it to expand. Besides menstrual fluids, tampons can absorb their weight many times in many other liquids, including water.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why does my toilet keep clogging?” check whether you or another person in your house is flushing tampons down the toilet. Their high absorbency and resistance to disintegration in water can easily cause a plumbing emergency. 

Over time, flushed tampons can accumulate inside various parts of your toilet’s plumbing system, such as the curved P-trap pipe or the drain pipe. They can cause severe clogs, preventing your toilets from flushing and causing water to overflow. In extreme cases, they can even cause blockages in your home’s sewer lines. 

If your toilets are overflowing or backing sewage up, this is a severe plumbing emergency and you should contact a 24-hour emergency plumber near you immediately.

What to do if You’ve Flushed a Tampon

If you’ve accidentally disposed of a tampon by flushing it down the toilet, observe how the toilet reacts after flushing. Certain signs, similar to those explained in our guide to drain cleaning, can help you identify whether your toilet is partially or fully clogged.

• Slow draining. Check whether your toilet is draining more slowly than usual. It may indicate a partial blockage in your toilet’s piping system, such as an accumulation of flushed tampons.

• Unusual sounds. If your toilet makes gurgling or rumbling sounds after flushing, air is escaping from the piping or the sewer line due to a blockage. Flushed tampons may accumulate around the curves of certain pipes, creating air pockets and causing gurgling sounds when flushing.

• Unusual water level. After flushing, check the water level inside your toilet bowl. If it is noticeably higher or lower than it should be, water isn’t properly flowing through your toilet’s pipes. This can be an early sign of a severe blockage.

• Persistent bad odors. Does your toilet bowl emit foul smells and sewage odors even after flushing? A blockage down the line may be retaining waste, worsening an existing partial blockage.

If you notice any of these signs in Charleston, SC, call the emergency plumbing services at Blue Collars. Our professional technicians will assess the situation and use various tools to diagnose and address the blockage. 

If we can’t dislodge the blockage with a toilet plunger or a snake, we may use more advanced equipment, such as motorized augers, camera inspections or hydro-jetting machines. We can also assess the condition of your sewage pipes for signs of wear and tear and repair or replace pipe segments as necessary.

Contact Blue Collars for Your Plumbing Emergencies

Blue Collars is a Charleston plumbing company offering 24-hour professional plumbing and HVAC repair services, seven days a week. We can handle any plumbing emergency, from partial blockages to severe sewage backups.
If you notice the signs of a toilet blockage, leave it to the professionals at Blue Collars. Contact our team to schedule a service today.