Can You Flush Food Down the Toilet?

Maybe you found some old food in the fridge and don’t know how to dispose of it. The toilet can handle that, right? Well, not really. Those pipes are not designed for food. Here are some excellent reasons to avoid flushing food down your toilet.

It doesn’t break down well

The only things that are meant to be flushed are human waste and toilet paper. Food doesn’t break down in the same way, and the passages are often too small for food that hasn’t broken down. This can cause clogs in your sewer line, or even back up of sewage into your home (a place that – regardless of personal taste - is always made better by a lack of raw sewage).

It congeals

It’s okay, you think – this food is already small enough to pass through the pipes. But the larger problem with most food scraps is that the fat and oil in the food can congeal. These deposits can then harden and narrow your pipes, or even collect other pieces of debris to create large blocks in your line that can impact entire communities.

It expands

If you flush down something small, that doesn’t mean it stays small. Many types of food absorb water and can rapidly increase in size, causing a large problem. These foods are also often starchy and contain sticky compounds that again attract other debris, making the clog grow and grow.

There’s not enough power

Especially with modern toilets, there is not enough flushing power and water volume to move food particles through your pipes. Why? Because the system is not designed to do that. When you flush food scraps, they might not even make it to your pipes before they cause a clog. Then you will have an overflow situation on your hands on a subsequent flush, which can be very embarrassing and cause damage.

It costs money

One of the best reasons to avoid flushing food down your toilet is that it costs money. You might be paying that money directly in repairs for a severely clogged line or a backup. Or you may be paying it in higher taxes to accommodate sewer maintenance costs because of disruptions to your community’s wastewater processes. It really isn’t worth it. Make sure to dispose of food waste properly to avoid a messy situation.