Is It OK To Flush Hair Down Your Toilet?
South End Plumbing, Heating, & Air Expert Tips
Is It OK To Flush Hair Down The Toilet?
All of us shed hair on a regular basis. It’s thought about totally typical to lose 50-100 hairs every day. With all that hair falling out, where should it go? If you have family pets, you’re most likely utilized to seeing a lot more hair, or fur, all over the place. We have 2 pets that shed like crazy. We can brush them one day and still pull clumps out of them the next.
We’ve constantly thrown our excess hair into the garbage bin or simply swept up any unnoticed hair that happened to make it to the flooring. While this is pretty typical, are there any better options?
One choice that you might have thought about is to flush that hair down the toilet. After all, much worse things make their method through your pipes without issue, right?
So, is it safe to flush hair down the toilet? Read on and find out.
Can Hair Be Flushed Down the Toilet?
It may be tempting, it is not safe to flush hair down your toilet. While the toilet itself most likely will not get obstructed by hair, the pipelines even more downstream most certainly can over time. Hair tends to snag on anything in its course. If you have brand new pipelines, you may not have numerous flaws in them, but for anything that’s had some wear and tear or has been repaired, there are likely some rough locations or locations of accumulation that will capture any hair that comes its way.
Next, long hair tends to ball up actually easily. It produces a nice web that captures anything trying to pass through when it does so. This netting can trigger an obstruction in time as more and more particles is captured by the web. Unlike other biological products, hair in fact breaks down actually gradually. As a result, if some hair begins clogging your drain, don’t anticipate it to simply break down in time. Rather, it will just remain there getting worse and worse.
Finally, if you have a septic tank, you might wind up with more problems than a clogged up drain, as the components are much more challenging to access and repair. Septic tank repair work can be extremely expensive, so the only products that are safe to flush in this case are human waste and septic-safe bathroom tissue.
So Where Should You Dispose Loose Hair?
Since it’s not a great concept to flush your hair down the toilet, what should you do with it instead? Well, you have two standard options to pick from:
Compost It
It comes as a surprise to most people, however hair is compostable. It’s a great source of nitrogen for your soil. Easy mix it in with the other products in your compost heap in percentages. The exact same opts for fur from your pets.
Toss It Away
If composting doesn’t work for you, you can constantly resort to the trash bin, like most people likely do. While it might not be the most environmentally-friendly choice, it might be the only one that makes good sense in your scenario.
Last Ideas
In the end, it’s not a great idea to flush excess hair down the toilet, unless you like the idea of having your pipes eventually clog. While percentages most likely will not cause any problems, the less you put down your pipes, the more likely you are to keep your plumbing working effectively.
If you do not like the concept of getting rid of the hair that you shed, consider composting it instead as a more environmentally friendly option.
South End Plumbing specializes in clogs, so remember, we are just a click away. We also specialize in leak detection – give us a call! South End Plumbing is one of the only companies that will give you a free estimate. Call us at 704-919-1722 or fill out the form online to schedule a visit.