Can You Flush Paper Towels Down the Toilet?

What to flush and what not to flush down the toilet has been a topic of discussion since time immemorial. This is because of how delicate, yet, important the toilet is. Not everything can be flushed down the toilet to avoid the story that touches.

The question is, can you flush paper towels down the toilet?

You cannot flush paper towels down the toilet to avoid blocking your sewage pipes and septic tank. Paper towels are more abrasive than toilet paper; they are made from a different material which makes them hard to dissolve quickly hence, should not be flushed down the toilet to avoid clogging your toilet pipes and septic /sewage tank.

Since paper towels are made from cellulose fibers, they are a bit hard to disolve when used with water. Among other materials that make up the cellulose fibers are cotton, wood, and most other plants. The point is, paper towel is similar to toilet paper, yet different.

Can You Flush Paper Towels Down the Toilet?

Paper towels should not be flushed down the toilet because they don’t disolve quickly. Since paper towels are made from materials that don’t disolve easily like toilet paper, they should not be flushed down the toilet, otherwise, the paper towel can block your toilet or cause clogging issues in your sewage pipes and septic tanks.

As paper towels are not easy to disolve when flushed down the toilet, you mustn’t flush them. Do not say you were not told. A word is enough for the wise. If you have been flushing paper towels down the toilet for so long without knowing the consequences, stop today to avert telling the story that touch.

What Will Happen When You Put Paper Towel in the Toilet?

Nothing will happen when you put paper towels in the toilet. However, you are not permitted to put the paper towel in the toilet to avoid flushing it down the toilet. Instead of putting a paper towel in the toilet, why don’t you find another means of disposing of it that is not in your toilet? It is better that way. You can either decompose it or trash it in your waste bin.

The only time something will happen is if after putting the paper towel in your toilet, you mistakenly or purposely flushed it down the toilet; that is when it will become an issue as it may block your sewage tank or pipings.

What Happens When You Flush Paper Towels Down The Toilet?

When you flush paper towels down the toilet, it will take so long to dissolve, which will end up clogging your sewage pipes. It is a bad idea to flush paper towels down the toilet because it will eventually clog your toilet.

If you have been doing it in the past, stop it right now except you have money to pay plumbers to rectify the problem for you. Plumber hookups are expensive these days.

Will Paper Towels Eventually Dissolve?

Paper towels will eventually dissolve but will not dissolve very quickly because of their absorbent nature. Even though paper towels are made from paper which is expected to disolve when exposed to water, paper towel does not disolve that quickly but will eventually disolve after it must have been in the water for a long time, thus should not be flushed down the toilet to avoid clogging the pipes.

The fact that paper towels will eventually dissolve does not mean they should be flushed down the toilet. Some strict requirements and rules govern the use of paper towels and one of them is the disposal of the paper towel by flushing it down the toilet. You are advised never to do so or risk clogging your pipes. A word is enough for the wise.

There is also one thing you should know about how paper towels dissolve. Even though they don’t disolve very quickly like toilet paper, they don’t also disolve very softly as the toilet paper. The worst you can flush down your toilet is a latex condom because they don’t dissolve at all.

Instead of completely dissolving and melt away, paper towels will start breaking into small strong particles of paper before it eventually dissolves completely. This process plus the material it is made of makes it hard to easily dissolve.

What to Do When You Flush Paper Towels Down the Toilet?

The first thing you need to do when you flush paper towels down the toilet is to continue flushing with enough water with a lot of pressure. This is to push the paper towel and allow it to quickly go down.

The next thing to do when you flush paper towels down the toilet is to grab a plunger, use it to apply pressure to ensure that the paper towels are not flushed halfway.

As much as I didn’t want to tell you what to do when you flush paper towels down the toilet, I still did it for emergency purposes. Hence, do not flush paper towels down your toilet.

Reason You Should Not Flush Paper Towels Down the Toilet

The only reason why you should not flush paper towels in the toilet is that paper towels don’t disolve very quickly hence will clog your toilet pipes. They will eventually clog your sewage pipe if you continue flushing them down the toilet. That is the only major reason why you should not.

How to Dispose Paper Towels After Use

When you hear paper towels, the first thing that should appear in your mind is a product that is conventional and alternative to toilet paper. Paper towels are made to be absorbent. It is meant to be disposed after use. And by disposed, I don’t mean flushing it down the toilet, rather, place it either in a waste bin or burning it.

Depending on what you use the paper towel to clean. Paper towel disposal can come in different forms. Of course, there are several things you can do with paper towels which are cleaning and wiping the anus after using the toilet, dusting, and cleaning up spills. It can also be used to dry your hands and clean the window.

However, the point is, the way you dispose of the paper towel used to clean the anus after using the toilet is different from how you dispose the paper towel used in cleaning the window or wiping spills in the kitchen.

In disposing any paper towel used in the toilet, it should not be disposed in a place where it will be all smelly to avoid affecting the health of people around. The ones used for other conventional means can be disposed in the waste bin in the house. Even if you want to dispose the paper towels you used to clean your anus in the waste bin, ensure to trash the waste bin immediately.

Other Things You Should Not Do With Paper Towels

Do not use paper towels to clean any rough or sharp surface such as a knife to avoid tearing the paper towel. If you use paper towels on sharp objects like a kitchen knife, it might tear, leaving the knife to cut your hands. If you are going to use it to clean your kitchen knife, then you have to pay attention when doing it to avoid getting injured.

Don’t use paper towels to wipe your electronics screens such as TV, laptop, phones, monitors, etc. It is a bad idea to do so because paper towels are abrasive, hence will leave some micro scratches on your TV screen when used eventually.

Another thing you should not do with paper towels is cleaning your mirror. That is a bad idea. In fact, paper towels should not be used to clean any glass including your eye lens else it may leave some white particles that you may not like or want on the glass.

Conclusion

On no condition should you flush paper towel down the toilet because it will not disolve quickly which will clog your sewage pipes and cause you to spend money to rectify it. Instead of flushing the paper towel down the toilet, you can dispose the paper towels in the waste bin or trash them after using them.