Skip to main content

What sanitary products are safe for your toilet?


Subject:   What sanitary products are safe to flush in your toilet?

In the last few weeks,  chaos has been the norm in the world of toilet paper and the supply of the product that everyone in the USA takes for granted.   But in some cases, family and friends may be out of stock and you have had to get them some of your personal reserve.    And in some extreme situations, people use  other sanitary products in the bath room and this can in many cases lead to problems.  

Toilet paper is designed to easily break up when flushed.    The bath tissue we produce at Mercury Paper breaks up very easily in a normal flush cycle.   If you use our bath tissue, your septic system stays happy.   When you run out and use paper towel, napkins, facial tissue or wet wipes—things get more risky in terms of plumbing and septic function.  
 A simple test for the ability of tissue to break up or flush is shown  in the following pictures.   It is simple to perform and makes a great way to quickly find out if your alternative bath tissue is a potential problem.   I use a pint glass jar and it is filled a little over half way with water.   Add your sample and shake vigorous.   Shake ten times and bath tissue will break up and the other products that have a wet strength nature will not.   I used 6 sheets of 1  ply bath for one test and  4 sheets of 3 ply bath for a second test  and both samples performed well.   The fibers are separated and no large pieces remain and these material will flush easily.   

The kitchen towel and facial tissue we produced in the USA  does have wet strength properties.   When fully wetted, paper towels can retain 25 to 30% of their original dry strength and facial tissues can retain from 15 to 20% of their original dry strength.    The wet strength and the increased size of each sheet when compared to bath tissue is enough of a change to cause some issues with plugging of the pipes.   Let’s look at towel and facial tissue in the same test as the bath tissue.  I used one sheet of house brand kitchen towel (torn in half)  and  2 facial tissues (2ply) for the tests. . 

Kitchen Towel 
Facial Tissue 
Neither the towel or facial tissue break up like the bath tissue.    Bath tissue will break into fibers or small pieces and will perform  as designed.    Towel, napkins, facial tissue and wet swipes do not readily break up. Wet wipes are notorious for plumbing stoppages.

How can this benefit you?   If you or someone you know has to resort to using non bath tissue products in the toilet, this simple test may save some problems down the road.  If you have to flush wet strength products, try to reduce the sheet sizes and reduce the total amount used per trip and flush some additional times to keep the plumbing moving.    We will get through this chaos, but try not to cause additional problems by using non flushable paper products. 

This is a little PSA I worked up for the people in my new tissue plant.   We convert jumbo rolls of towel, bath tissue and facial tissues into the rolls and boxes in your house here at Mercury Paper.    We also make materials for commercial wash rooms.   We are really busy now  and we trying to maximize everything we do to get material back on the shelf in your local stores.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jump Ahead

 Hello to all the faithful readers out there is the ethernet.  As you know, I have been dealing with an issue with a pinched nerve in my back that has been affecting my right leg strength.  My leg strength is back to 85% according to the squat machine at the gym.  I use the type of machine that has belt around your waist and you hook up to an arm that connections to the weight rack. This machine does no put any weight on my lower back and allows for leg strength development.  Progress has been made and I am also running a couple days a week at the Pettit Ice Center in West Allis as well.   Things are coming along.    About 6 weeks ago I began doing weekly pilates classes.   The pilates has been very helpful in generating flexibility and strength in  my lower body.   The sessions are around one hour and they are very intense and I am enjoying the improvement in my body strength and movement. I plan on continuing these ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Race Day Again

Finally, we get to race again! As many of you know, I was injured last April 4, 2024. I had a disk at L4 vertebra collapse and pinch a nerve in my back that caused over half of my lower leg strenth to disappear. I had a lot of atrophy in my right leg quad and I have been recovering ever since. I am close to 100% on strength and the right leg looks like it is very close to normal size again, but it has been a battle. I have been working in the gym, doing pilates again and also running. All of these things must be done in balance so you can get the proper rest and recover. I still do full body massages every two weeks and I also have been working with a Cox Technique Chiro since the injury on a weekly or biweekly basis. The chiro has gotten me stretched back out and the pressure off the nerve, that treatment has been the real source of healing in my opinion. MY normal doctor was not any help, but this is not what normal doctors do--naturally healing. The first meet of 202...
Post a Comment
Read more

Really Important Information

I participated in the USATF Masters Indoor National meet last weekend in Winston-Salem, NC.   It was good meet for me and I will add the details of the results in another post later this week.  What I want to reflect on here is the quality of people in that building.   I am just so impressed with the high level of competition and caring for each other that goes on for 3 days.  Hug and Cry Area for Awards  There were around 1000 competitors for the event, and with families and officials, generally 500 to 2000 people were in the building during the times the track was open. It was not completely full at JDL Fast Track, but a really good crowd. North Carolina passed some very hateful and just plain repressive legislation a few years back concerning rest room usage and anything that did not meet the "hateful Jesus" religion that they were  promoting.   The NBA pushed back and moved their All Star Game location and I think this may hav...
3 comments
Read more