What can you flush down the toilet? Tea leaves? Bones? Rats?

[imron]

I don't think I could ever get used to that.

You could if it was causing your toilet to clog up every other day.  Clogged toilets get old pretty fast.  Much easier just to put it in the bin.

[li3wei1]

Last resort is the mop plunger.

 

I've seen one better. In HK, our toilet blocked up and our landlord sent around her handyman. Here's what he did:

1. empty the bowl as much as possible.

2. take the nozzle off your shower. if the flexible tubing isn't long enough to reach the toilet, replace it with one that is.

3. wrap an old disposable cloth around the end of the shower tube.

4. jam it down the toilet

5. turn the shower tap on full blast, while holding the tube/cloth thing in the toilet.

6. turn off the water, throw away the cloth, wash everything thoroughly

 

It occurred to us later that the problem could well have been an overstuffed septic tank.

[roddy]

This is kind of embarrassing, but apparently three months ago I thought it worthwhile setting a reminder to ask Demonic_Duck if he's still clogging up his toilet...

 

So?

[Demonic_Duck]

I'm glad you asked Roddy! I've continued to flush most of my paper down. There was one further cloggage, which was solved after some effort with a plunger and hot water (stunk to high heaven though). I notice that cloggages seem to happen when I release a particularly large and solid object from my bowels, rather than when I flush an unusually large amount of paper down. Maybe that's just confirmation bias, though.

[imron]

Maybe that's just confirmation bias, though.

The paper gets stuck in the pipes and it's the buildup that causes blockages rather than any one instance.  Large and solid objects are simply going to be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

 

When the plumbing can't handle toilet paper well, it's pretty inconsiderate to your flatmates not to put paper in the bin.  I hope you're always home and prepared for plunging pipes when blocks happen.

[anonymoose]

The paper gets stuck in the pipes and it's the buildup that causes blockages rather than any one instance.

 

Are you sure? I would have thought most paper disintegrates after it has been soaked in water for a few minutes. I can't imagine (an ordinary quantity) of wet paper clogging up a pipe without the aid of a substantial stool.