Should My Roommate be Flushing Dental Floss?

[bballwaterboy]

Not sure how "safe" this is and thought I'd ask some people more knowledgeable than myself.

I live in an apartment this year and have two other roommates. Still technically a campus rented property, but we're responsible for our own cleaning like a real apt.

Anyhow, I notice that one of my roommates flushes dental floss down the toilet after he's done. I never said anything the first three weeks, but am starting to wonder about it now.

Totally Safe, Possible Hazard, or total No-no?

Worried about some kind of a clog. ...and possibly having to pay ourselves for a fix!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Clog, I doubt it. Might not be environmentally the best, but I've done it before.

 

[SteamKing]

Not sure how "safe" this is and thought I'd ask some people more knowledgeable than myself.

I live in an apartment this year and have two other roommates. Still technically a campus rented property, but we're responsible for our own cleaning like a real apt.

Anyhow, I notice that one of my roommates flushes dental floss down the toilet after he's done. I never said anything the first three weeks, but am starting to wonder about it now.

Totally Safe, Possible Hazard, or total No-no?

Worried about some kind of a clog. ...and possibly having to pay ourselves for a fix!

How much dental floss are you talking about? A couple strands or a couple kilograms?

 

[edward]

It looks like this city's sewer system can't handle dental floss.

http://www.thestar.com/news/2007/01/10/dental_floss_gums_up_sewer_system.html

 

[rootone]

Not a hazard as in containing any dangerous substances.
Not a hazard as in causing plumbing problems.
Maybe hazardous as in that seems to be giving you nightmares.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Not a hazard as in causing plumbing problems.

Apparently, it is clogging up pumps in Toronto, if you read Edward's link. It is, actually, very strong stuff, and I can see it getting wound around spinning shafts without breaking.

 

[Borek]

Bad idea IMHO for the reasons already stated - it is very strong, and while single piece is not going to do much harm, I can easily imagine it becoming a part of a clog that is pretty difficult to remove. I have seen a clog containing fibers from a washing machine - the filter was broken and the fibers were not removed from the waste water, instead they accumulated in the tube further down, together with some slimy junk.

 

[Tolklein]

It really depends on how robust the sewage system in your neck of the woods is, in some of the townships of South Africa all sorts of things (some of which we'd rather not know about) get tossed in the drains, so some pretty intense pumps have been installed to deal with it. But as a general rule, bin it before you flush it.

 

[bballwaterboy]

How much dental floss are you talking about? A couple strands or a couple kilograms?

Not sure exactly how much, but I know he flushes it every time he flosses. I guess whatever a normal person uses for daily flossing, that's how much he flushes.

I just don't want any clogging issues, because I'm afraid we might have to pay for it. I'll talk to him about this after reading people's posts here. Thanks guys!

(p.s. I'm guessing shaving and allowing hairs down the sink/pipes is okay right? I shave in a sink and wash it all away down the pipes.)