Is it possible to flush cat litter down the toilet?

In 95% of cases, sewerage in apartment buildings becomes clogged due to foreign objects falling into the drain. For example, many people are used to flushing cat litter down the toilet and not thinking about what this might lead to. Meanwhile, even granules from compressed sawdust can cause serious blockages.

What happens to the filler when it comes into contact with water?

Typically, the cat's litter box is located in the toilet. Simply flushing the used litter down the toilet is a very tempting option. However, you need to understand what happens when sawdust gets into the sewer.

Wood is known to swell in water, and cat litter is no exception. Once down the drain, sawdust softens, swells and turns into a pulp that can cause a blockage.

• If there is only a small amount of sawdust, it can easily pass through the bends of the toilet bowl and pipes.
• If a large amount of wood filler gets into the sewer system, then the power of the water flow from the tank is simply not enough to carry all the material into the general sewer drain. In this case, the sawdust will remain in the bend of the toilet.

In addition, it is important to take into account that the filler swells in parts - the sawdust inside the general lump will remain dry, and air may remain in it. All this causes the formation of a kind of plug, which causes a blockage.

Flushing other types of filler – clay, mineral, silica gel – down the toilet is prohibited.Clay dissolves poorly and sticks together into a dense waterproof plug; silica gel and minerals do not dissolve at all.

Danger of blockage

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

Some packages of cat litter contain instructions that allow you to dispose of used kibble by flushing it down the toilet. But you need to understand that the manufacturer is not responsible for the condition of the sewage system in your home.

If you are confident in the good condition of your sewer system, then it may turn out that a couple of floors below there is already a small blockage in the common drain. In this case, dumping a large amount of wood filler will cause problems for all the 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 wastewater. If you put a lot of filler into it, then most likely the sawdust will get stuck in one of these bends.

Considering all of the above, it is not recommended to flush wood filler down the toilet. As a last resort - in small quantities. If you need to wash off the entire contents of the tray, you should do it in parts, waiting 30–40 minutes after each wash. In this case, sawdust will pass freely through all the pipes and will not clog the sewer.

What to do if the filler is not washed off

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

You can remove stuck sawdust like this:

1. If you literally just tried to flush the litter and it is in the toilet, then it needs to be removed from there immediately. Put on rubber gloves (if you don't have them, wrap your hand in a regular plastic bag) and remove everything you can from the toilet.
2. Then use a plunger to push the remaining sawdust further into the pipe itself. Place the plunger on the drain, press the rubber socket tightly to the surface and pump, as for regular pipe cleaning.
3. You can add a little water to the toilet to help push the sawdust further. However, there should not be too much water, otherwise it will have to be bailed out.
4. Drain the water from the tank. If everything is done correctly, the flow of water will drive the sawdust further down the drain and remove the remaining blockage.

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

Remember that due to washed away filler, a blockage may form not in your apartment, but several floors below. In this case, all residents will have problems with the sewer system, and you are unlikely to be able to correct the situation on your own.

Sometimes the filler does not immediately clog the pipe, but gradually accumulates in the sewer, causing a slight blockage and reducing the capacity of the pipes.In this case, you should use special chemicals.

1. Choose a product that is strong acid or alkaline, as these chemicals are good at eating away organic debris inside the drain. It can be liquid or powder in granules.
2. Pour or sprinkle the product down 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, flushing the tank several times.

Although wood litter is non-toxic and environmentally friendly, it is not recommended to flush it down the toilet as it can cause drain clogs. You can deal with such a blockage either mechanically or chemically, but this is not the most pleasant procedure. You can throw sawdust into the toilet only in small parts and at intervals, so it will be more convenient and easier to collect the used filler and throw it in the trash - with this method of disposal there will definitely not be any problems.