Can I flush cat litter into the toilet

Sewerage in apartment buildings is blocked in 95% of cases due to foreign objects falling into the drain. For example, many people are accustomed to flushing cat litter into the toilet and not think about where this might lead. Meanwhile, even pellets from compressed sawdust can cause serious blockage.

What happens to the filler in contact with water

Typically, the cat tray is in the toilet. Just flushing the used filler into the toilet is a very tempting option. However, you need to understand what happens when sawdust gets into the sewer.

It is known that a tree swells in water, and cat filler is no exception. Once in the sewers, sawdust softens, swells and turns into pulp, which can cause blockage.

• If there are few sawdust, then they can easily pass along the bends of the toilet bowl and pipes.
• If a large amount of wood filler enters the sewer, then the power of the water flow from the tank is simply not enough to conduct all the material into the general sewer. In this case, the sawdust will remain in the bend of the toilet.

In addition, it is important to consider that the filler swells in parts - inside the general lump, the sawdust will remain dry, air may remain in them. All this becomes the cause of the formation of a kind of cork, which causes blockage.

Flushing other types of filler into the toilet - clay, mineral, silica gel - is prohibited. Clay dissolves poorly and sticks together in a tight waterproof cork, silica gel and minerals do not dissolve at all.

Clogging danger

In addition to the properties of sawdust swelling in water, the condition of sewer pipes is of great importance. For example, if the sewerage has not changed in the apartment for a couple of decades or the common drains in the house have not been replaced, then a blockage will almost certainly occur. The throughput of old pipes is less, since there are many growths inside them.

Some cat-filled packages contain instructions that allow the disposal of used pellets by flushing the toilet. But you need to understand that the manufacturer is not responsible for the state of the sewage system in your home.

If you are confident in the good condition of your sewage system, it may turn out that there is already a small blockage a couple of floors below in the general drain. In this case, dumping a large amount of wood filler will cause problems for all neighbors - including you.

You also need to remember the design of the toilet, the drain of which is curved in a complex way to get rid of unpleasant odors and sewage. If you lower a lot of filler into it, then most likely the sawdust will get stuck in one of these bends.

Given all of the above, flushing wood filler into the toilet is not recommended. In extreme cases - in a small amount. If you want to wash off the entire contents of the tray, then you should do this in parts, waiting 30-40 minutes after each wash. In this case, the sawdust will freely pass through all the pipes and do not form a blockage in the sewer.

What to do if the filler is not washed off

If the filler has not washed off and a blockage has formed, it is quite possible to get rid of it on your own. If the sawdust forms a cork in the toilet drain, then they should be removed manually, and the sooner the better: over time, the sawdust absorb more water, the cork becomes denser, and getting rid of it will be much more difficult.

You can remove stuck sawdust like this:

1. If you literally just tried to flush the filler and it is in the toilet, then you need to immediately remove it from there.Put on rubber gloves (if they weren’t there, wrap your hand in a regular plastic bag) and pull everything you can out of the toilet.
2. Then, using a plunger, push the remaining sawdust further into the pipe itself. Install the plunger on the drain, firmly press the rubber bell to the surface and swing it, as with a regular pipe cleaning.
3. You can add a little water to the toilet to push the sawdust harder. However, there should not be too much water, otherwise it will have to be scooped up.
4. Drain the water tank. If everything is done correctly, then the flow of water will drive the sawdust further down the sewer and eliminate the remaining clogging.

If the blockage remains or the cork has formed for a long time, you will have to clean the toilet with a special cable with a nozzle. The cable should be lowered into the drain and make circular movements, trying to push it further and screw into the blockage. It is important to punch a small hole through which the flow of water from the tank will gradually wash off the cork.

Remember that because of the washed-out filler, blockage may not form in your apartment, but several floors below. In this case, all residents will have sewage problems, and you can hardly fix the situation yourself.

Sometimes the filler does not clog the pipe instantly, but gradually accumulates in the sewer, causing a small blockage and lowering the pipe throughput. In this case, you should use special chemicals.

1. Choose a product based on strong acid or alkali, as these chemicals well corrode organic residues inside the sewer. It can be liquid or powder in granules.
2. Pour or pour the product into the toilet drain and leave for about half an hour, waiting for the reaction to complete.
3. Then flush the toilet thoroughly with plenty of water, several times lowering the water from the tank.

Despite the fact that the wood filler is non-toxic and environmentally friendly, it is not recommended to flush it into the toilet, as it can cause sewage blockage. You can cope with such a blockage both mechanically and chemically, but this is not the most pleasant procedure. Throwing away sawdust into the toilet can only be done in small parts and with an interval in time, so it will be more convenient and easier to collect the used filler and throw it into the trash - with this method of disposal there will definitely not be any problems.