1.Wipes – These “moist towelettes” or "flushable wipes" are becoming an increasingly popular bathroom accessory. Despite the fact that they’re marketed to be flushed like toilet paper, these wipes do not break down in water, and are creating clogs and backups in sewer systems around the nation. Sewer systems throughout the country have banded together to speak out against the billions of dollars in damage caused to municipal and residential sewer systems by these wipes.

2. Condoms – They probably seem small and very similar to toilet tissue, but these latex prophylactics are like kryptonite for septic tanks and sewage treatment plants. 

3. Cotton Balls, Tampons & Swabs – They’re just cotton, right? It might seem like these tiny bathroom tools would just get soggy and eventually break down in the watery pipeline, but they don’t. They eventually gather together in bends of the pipe, causing massive blockages.

4. Prescription Medication – Don’t need the rest of those pills? Many people feel like they’re doing the safe thing, keeping meds out of the wrong hands by flushing them, but it’s actually very dangerous. These drugs destroy bacteria, contaminate groundwater supplies and can have terrible effects on wildlife downstream. The South Dakota Department of Health has provided a list of drug take-back sites, which is available here.

5. Paper towels – These are extremely wasteful and reuseable rags/napkins are not anybetter. Paper towels are NOT designed to break down in water like toilet paper. Flushing them can cause BIG problems.

6. Cigarette butts – Not only do they look nasty when floating in the toilet water, they’re full of incredibly toxic chemicals that just end up in the environment and water supply system. Also, think of all the water you’re wasting to get rid of ONE tiny butt!

7. Band-aids – These are made from non-biodegradable plastic, which is terrible for the environment and can cause terrible clogs in the sewage system.

8. Dental floss – Despite feeling like string, dental floss is not biodegradable. Once flushed, it loves to wrap itself around other objects in the pipeline, making tiny clogs bigger in an instant.

9. Fats, oil and grease – This is a tough one, and everyone has done it at one point, but cooking fats should NEVER go in the drain or garbage disposal. It seems like a liquid when it’s hot, but as soon as this grease hits the drain, it cools and congeals, becoming pipe-clogging wax. Scrape it into the trash, or, if it’s clean bacon fat, save it in a jar for reuse.

10. Cat litter – I can understand how this would seem ok — it’s just the cat’s poop and pee, right? But cat litter is made from clay and sand, two things that you should NEVER be put down a toilet.

11. Disposable diapers – just because there’s poop in it, doesn’t mean it belongs in the toilet. Diapers are made from toxic plastic that’s designed to expand when it comes in contact with water. In the slim chance you actually get it down the drain, it will instantly be caught in the u-bend, and cause a terrible back up