My friends and I were debating this the other day and Google is telling me all sorts of different things. Should you flush your tampons (not the applicator, just the cotton bit) in the toilet? Do you?

Personally, I always have and have never had a problem.

Thoughts?

Always did when I used them, never a problem.

You're not supposed to so I don't. Putting them in the bin may save the sewer system down the line. No down side.

I do. Except if there is a septic system, then I don't. But usually there's a sign or somebody will tell you.

I do unless I'm at my boyfriend parents lake house which is septic.

Back when I was using them -- never. Although most of the time the system can handle it, every now and then a system can't. And it is such a mess when it can't that I didn't want to risk causing a big headache for either myself or somebody else.

When I used them I used to always flush them. I think here in the UK its a generally accepted thing that they get flushed although towels don't.

Was ok til our drains blocked one day and me and Dad had the rods down them. We share a system with the neighbours and they obviously flushed towels and nappies and all sorts. Was GROSS.

Now I hardly put anything but tissue down the loo.

I know in some european countries even doing that is frowned upon.

No! You aren't supposed to. Those things expand like mad, and it would be so embarrassing and such a hassle to get a toilet or the pipes clogged by one.

^ If you are not supposed to why does it state that they are flushable on the box?

We had a print add here in Australia years ago (maybe 15+) that showed a seagull standing at the beach with a tampon string hanging out of its mouth (it was a part of an anti-littering campaign about sea animals dieing because of what was ending up in the water) and the message was to not flush tampons.

I can't flush them, I just can't. We always have a bin with a lid next to the toilet in our house.

I don't because my mom doesn't. I just wrap it in toilet paper and toss it in the trashcan. Plus, in our house, our toilet (used to, we got it fixed) would freak out all the time and I always had a fear it would freak out because of a tampon. I'm not sure what kind of plumbing we have though.

I've considered flushing them in public places though. But I also have that fear that once in a blue moon, I'll get the toilet that isn't flushing for some reason.

I never have. I was told it was bad for the drains and just wrap them in toilet paper instead.

@ Reel_faerie85: Many tampon brands advertise their tampons as being flushable so that they seem more convenient for potential buyers. They have cost water authorities tons of money to fix the problems tampons have caused. Tampons are not According to Beachwatch, there are about 14 tampons for every ONE kilometer of beach, as a result of being flushed down the toilet. That is just nasty.

^ That is nasty.

I just spoke to a friend of mine (who works for a local water company) and he said some of them do degrade a bit like tissue paper - they break up and then get cleaned up but also some do not. Gross.

I am so glad I have a mooncup now.

Nope. My parents had a clogged main pipe once and when it was cleaned out, there was a bunch of tampons caught up in some roots. The plumber said flushing them is horrible for the drains, so I haven't done it since. Especially since buying my own home...I don't want to cause any problems that I have to pay to fix

I used to, until someone mentioned to me that you shouldn't, because they all end up in the sea, and just wrap them in toilet paper and throw them in the sanitary bin next to the loo.

Now I use a mooncup, so it doesn't matter, but I wouldn't want to ever put one in a toilet anyway, because I've figured out that no matter where it goes, it takes too long to decompose.

Also, the tampon industry is completely unregulated. The only reason tampons are white are because white is a clean colour, they're white because of bleach... Why would anyone want to pollute the environment with that? (Or put it in their body!?)

Goodness no. I even worry about some of these triple-ply, quilted, scented toilet papers these days and their ability to break down in the sewerage. I use regular old unbleached, double ply, unscented, recycled office paper toilet paper and that decomposes almost immediately on hitting the water.

Sewerage treatment plants are designed to clean human waste and toilet paper out of flushed water before it's released back INTO THE OCEAN.

If you wouldn't want to swim in it, don't flush it.

Erin.
::righteous babe::

^EE! I wouldn't want to swim in poop.

I flush them, but after erading this I think I might stop. Eek!

In our house, NOTHING paper goes into the toilet. Not even toilet paper! My husband grew up in a house with sensitive plumbing, so now he's very strict about that. Every time I'm in the bathroom I just smile and pretend I'm in Europe. So yeah...wrap and discard

My mom always warned me to never flush them because her friend had been flushing them for years, and one day the toilet got messed up and the roto-rooter plumber guy came to fix it, and apparently he had to pull out a ton of old tampons, and she was really embarrassed. So... yeah. That doesn't sound good. Funny how I recall that story from so many years ago. I was terrified when she told me, so I took extra care to never flush them at home. Now that I'm at school, our dorm toilet is really... powerful? and sometimes I do it.

I never flushed them. Most public toilets have special sanitary disposal systems where you can put your pads or tampons and at home I wrapped them and stashed them in a lidded bin.

Now I don't need to worry about them ever again because I use a Diva Cup. Yay for no waste!

Helen

I do,Always have as menstrual blood pretty much stinks!

I usually, but not always, do. My father always tells me not to, but I have a really, really heavy flow and most of the time the tampons are gross and hard to wrap up with toilet paper to throw away. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad if I had a trash can with a lid, but I get so self conscious seeing that in the trash can, even when I have them well-wrapped. So, usually I just flush.

My parents have a septic system so no flushing there. Here at school we have those special little trash bins for tampons, pads, and the such. I only flush when those little bins are not around.

No, partly because I have to bin the applicator and wrapper of the next one anyway, and partly because the loo at home blocks really really easily. Like, really easily.