18 Things Californians Must Never Flush Down the Toilet

If you want to avoid potty problems, mind the three P's of flushing.

We never thought there was anything mysterious about what it took to keep our porcelain thrown clog-free. To keep it simple, we always stuck to the three P's of flushing—pee, poop and (toilet) paper.

But a quick scroll through Personal Care Insights blog, tells us a lot of our neighbors don't abide by the three P's. It seems like our neighbors are flushing a number of unflushables without realizing how bad it is for their plumbing.

We surveyed Californians about what they are flushing. The results showed that 20% mistakenly think all soft paper products can be flushed, and approximately 25% think baby wipes are flushable, which is never true. Even worse, 60% self-reported they flushed something they knew they shouldn’t.

-Inland Empire Utilities Agency

On second thought, never mind. The quote above tells us a lack of education isn't the main problem, laziness is.

Californians are using their toilets like waste bins, & that's a problem. 

Do they not have trash bins in their bathrooms? Have they never experienced the horrifying come-to-Jesus moment when the toilet bowl water rises to the rim? Or perhaps they've never had to choose to between paying a plumber to fix the toilet their three-year-old clogged with a jar of peanut butter over their car payment.

We'll tell you this much: we have, and all it took was one what-the-flush?! moment to set us straight, friend.

We understand it isn't always possible to avoid the wrath of a potty-obsessed toddler. It happens to the best of us. So we've started controlling what we can by looking into the things we should and shouldn't flush.

FYI: not all wipes are flushable

Shocked? We were! According to , consumers can't always trust the packaging labels for personal hygiene wipes.

After studying the consistency and flushability of 150 different kinds of wipes, including baby wipes, makeup remover wipes, feminine wipes, and moist toilet tissue, Inland Empire Utilities Agency says it's probably best to avoid flushing wipes altogether.

Californians who are unsure of what to flush can always check with #FlushSmart consumer education campaign.

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