Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I must be destroying several plumbing systems. I've never not thought about flushing a tampon...

I flush them, but it's because I don't care about the plumbing systems I'm destroying - my school, work, my last apt, even this house is temporary. I've heard some horror stories about some plugged up plumming being massive amounts of tampons, though, so I know it's not good to do.

I've seen the havoc wreaked by flushed tampons too many times. The boxes all say they're flushable, but consider what would happen if you started flushing paper towels. A few on rare occasions wouldn't be a big deal, but multiple ones in a day times multiple women using the same toilet = disaster.

So I thought I would share a little bit of my TERRIBLE HORRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD DAY with you guys since it pertains perfectly to this post.


I woke up this morning and the smell of dog poop filled my whole apartment. Turns out, my little pug had some GI upset last night and shiitake all over the floor, the bed, the couch, even the wall (however that is possible). I spend an hour cleaning up the mess only to run out of trashbags. Instead of going to get more, like a decent human being, I decided in my frustration to grab a paper towel full of dog poop and throw it in my toilet.
of course
I flush it and it becomes very very clogged, something went wrong and the water started GUSHING out all over my floor... destroying all of my personal artifacts that I leave laying around. I eventually figure out how to turn off the water, but only after I accumulate about 8 gallons of shiitake water all over the hardwood of my apartment.
I sat down in the mess and had a nervous breakdown before calling my landlord downstairs. He comes up to help me plunge the toilet and after seeing the poop everywhere he was already im sure reconsidering his decision to allow my pug into my apartment in the first place.
He puts the crazy 10foot plunger snake thing into my toilet but first he lifts the seat (which I, of course, never do unless I am cleaning) only to reveal..
THE SAME SAID JACKSON POLLOCK-ESQUE PAINTING TAMPON SLING SKID MARKS THAT WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING.
I about head a heart attack. I was totally mortified.
I guess I hadnt checked when I finished my rag day before yesterday and for some reason this months were WAYYYYY worse than usual.

damn today.

Worst.

Always move the string to avoid the pee stream, always flush the tampon.

Want a cookie? You deserve a cookie. Here, take the whole damn box.

^ ohhhhhhhhh sad. That reminds me of when my landlord(/slumlord) came over to show our house to someone as we were moving out. He shows the lady the whole house including the bathroom. Well I guess I was in a hurry and didn't look after I flushed but after they left I noticed there a little floater turd still in the toilet...I was pretty mortified.
ENJOY MY TINY DEERPOOP HORRIBLE LANDLORD!
/threadjack

Anyhoo I'm pretty sure you can flush the O.B. type tampons, I swear mine says it on the box. I have anyway ever since I had a roommate with a very very nosy (and disgusting) dog.

They're made of cotton and rayon, so nothing magical is going on to make them not clog a drain. Every tampon can be flushed, but that doesn't mean they should be!

I found this while looking for whether or not they're biodegradable

I'm sure I was taught to bin tampons, or just assumed that was what you did from being used to pads.
My boyfriend lives with two women and has no bin in his bathroom- I'm slightly curious as to what they do. They don't seem to type to use re-usables. I was visiting once and saw what I think was a pad rolled up in its wrapping, inside the cardboard tube from a toilet roll, pushed down beside the radiator. When I went back a week later, it was still there! It's gone now though.

Ugh I'm always horrified when I remember people use pads. I mean they have their place for somethings I guess (post babies, surgeries, etc) but they are really just little diapers. Little menstrual diapers. :(

(sorry in advance if that's what you use)

hahah so many good horror stories here

What, are they less sophisticated than stuffing a piece of cotton or a cup of up your vag?

I don't know! Not really...there is just something about them that I don't like. I like that area to be clean, and for some reason pads seem...not. *shrug*

I am weird, sorry.

Blood messes are fun! Especially when you're able to play "murderer in the shower" with your full menstrual cup. Alone or with friends! (more screaming involved with friends)

I know how you feel about pads, it's like a bath to me- you're just sitting in your waste. With tampons or cups at least it's contained inside your body with as little outside contact as possible.
They have their place though, and I don't think any less of people who use them (it's just personal preference).

I too am a pre-sit remover, as well as a flusher. I buy the organic cotton pons at TJs, so I assume they are as safe to flush as tp.

I remember one time, when I still used pads, my mom was really disturbed because somehow I dripped blood on the floor. I wanted to blame the drippage on run off from the unsticking process. I feel like in general pads are so much more messy and make a lot more waste than tampons.

THIS IS WHY I LOVE CUPS. Seriously, I don't miss that.

Amazing.

oh my god! you can move the string! it seems so obvious now, how have i never thought of this before? in any case, my life is forever improved -- thank you monkeytoes!

ooh. i never experienced this, but i remember having to peas but only having JUST put in a new tampon...so yeah i'd try and hold the string out of the way but it just wasn't working out for me. i'd always think about all the bacteria collecting on the string and then horrible growths emerging and just...blah

OH MY GOD what the fizzle is that lysol ad?!?! whaaaaaa


why :(

ha...hahaha. i play this by myself but it never seemed as funny as you just made it.

i have no intention of ever playing with my menstrual fluid.

LYSOL?!

Lysol keeps your vagina squeaky clean! And it's vegan!