A Closer Look Into Why Flushing Food Down The Toilet Is Far From Ideal!
Have you ever walked through to the kitchen with left-overs on your plate/plates and been tempted to flush them down the toilet?
Many of us despise the smell of a full dustbin in the kitchen and will try to avoid it at all costs. However, don’t be tempted to flush food down the toilet! In fact, avoid it at all costs!
Why shouldn’t we flush food down the toilet though?
Toilet pipes are wide enough to carry human waste, but not food waste. Toilets are made to dispose of water, toilet paper and human waste and nothing else. Flushing food down the toilet will cause it to back up and clog your toilet as food waste does not break down.
Flushing small bits of food periodically will not seriously damage your toilet but is not ideal.
Here are some guidelines to flushing food if you REALLY must…
Only flush small amounts of food that will break down with ease and not cause long term problems with your plumbing.
Don’t be tempted to flush any hard food scraps such as corn cobs, bones of any kinds, apples cores and large chunks of meat.
Oily or greasy food is NEVER a good idea for the same reason that you should never flush them down your basin or sink. This includes any food item that may harden when cooled such as bacon fat, coconut oil or butter. These food items will congeal and eventually constrict the flow of sewerage flow. See the end of the article for what a Fatberg is.
Grains can cause serious issues in your toilet pipes and should never be flushed. Grains swell and become larger as they absorb more water.
Never flush starchy food – starch foods tend to cling together and could easily clog the toilet, especially if coming into contact with other solid items.
Looking for an alternative to flushing food down the toilet?
Instead of throwing your leftovers away, consider keeping them in the fridge for lunch the next day or freeze them for quick meals on busy evenings.
Instead of washing your sauces down the sink or pouring your cooking oils down the drain, pour them into a container such a coffee jar or tin, seal it and throw it in the dustbin.
Freeze your smelly leftovers such as fish skins, meat etc. Keep them in a zip lock bag until bin day!
COMPOST! Did you know that 100% of your organic kitchen waste can be composted? For those who do not have the space for a compost heap or bin in the garden, you could consider a Bokashi composting bin. Food items that cannot be composted in traditional compost heaps can be composted in a Bokashi compost bin such as bones, meat, dairy, onions, citrus etc. in fact there is almost no excuse at all to flush food down the toilet!
However, if you made the choice to flush food down your toilet, call us as soon as efficiency of your drain is compromised. You will start to notice that your sinks and drains start to drain slower and there might even be a complete blockage. Please phone us before that stage as prevention is always better than cure!
What is a Fatberg?
A Fatberg is generally an accumulation of fatty food substances that have solidified with other solids in the underground sewerage system, which can cause major blockages in a town or a city’s sewerage system.
Are you having problems with a blocked toilet?
Have you recently flushed food down the toilet and are now experiencing a blockage? If so, contact us today to have our team of professional plumbers assess your toilet before matters get any worse.
