CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Whether you’re shopping in-store or online, toilet paper has been one of the hardest essential items to come by for weeks. A plumber explains what you can do as Plan B that won’t damage your system.
“So the problem is, toilet paper is designed to breakdown once it gets in the water,” said Robert Dulin with South End Plumbing.
Dulin says almost every other alternative won't breakdown: especially paper towel.
"The toilet paper actually starts to deteriorate and dissolve. Paper towels are designed not to break down," Dulin said.
Dulin says paper towels are the number one, failed alternative.
“It’s not just like its going to stop your toilet up immediately,” Dulin said, “so people flush the toilet and see it go down and say, it’s gone. Well two or three days of doing that, it starts backing up.”
Since the coronavirus crisis began, paper towels aren’t the only thing Dulin says he’s seen flushed.
“Here and there we’ve seen fabric, hand towels, cloth,” Dulin said, “which is really bad because it doesn’t break down at all.”
What about the thin, facial tissue?
“They’re not really designed to break down," Dulin said.
Dulin wouldn’t recommend using facial tissue. He also said wipes pose a problem for drains -- even the ones that say flushable.
Dulin says the first signs of messing up your plumbing will be gurgling noises in the toilet and water coming up from your shower drain.
He had this one recommendation.
“Throw it in the trash,” Dulin laughed. “Most people don’t want to do it that way. It’s better than stomping up your drain line.”
Fortunately, plumbers are considered essential and can still come to your home to fix issues.
Dulin says the plumbers at South End Plumbing are equipped with masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to keep themselves and homeowners safe.
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