Toilet Etiquette (For the Unlucky Ones)

Maybe you kissed a blarney stone and had the good fortune not to get stuck using a nasty public bathroom this St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe you went out to celebrate at a place where everyone had impeccable toilet etiquette, and you didn’t see a single plumbing emergency! Some of us were not so lucky. Maybe we just didn’t find the right clover!

The good news is that plumbing emergencies, and awkward bathroom environments, can be avoided if we all just practiced good bathroom etiquette! Let’s look a little more into what exactly that entails and how it can help you avoid a plumbing emergency.

Toilet Cleaning

The most basic form of toilet etiquette is keeping the toilet clean. That begins with flushing the toilet when you’re done. Some may even say that good toilet etiquette demands a “courtesy flush,” especially in a shared or public bathroom.

While the idea of “if it’s yellow let it mellow” may be okay to implement in your own home, it should be kept out of public bathrooms. The other side of keeping the toilet clean is to actually clean the toilet itself. Wipe the seat down, if you accidentally spray it.

At home, clean the inside of the toilet bowl regularly to keep it sanitary. You should also be cleaning the outside of your toilet, the tank lid, and both sides of your toilet seat regularly. Your family members or housemates will appreciate it!

Repiping

Another big part of having proper toilet etiquette is knowing what to flush and what not to flush. Your toilet is not a garbage bin; It is only designed to dispose of human waste and toilet paper.

Flushing things like sanitary napkins or diapers down your toilet can cause a clogged drain. In more severe instances, improper disposal of things in your toilet can cause a major clog further back in your drain line, which can cause an emergency like a burst pipe.

Here’s a list of some of the things you should keep out of your toilet:

• Feminine products
• Q-tips and cotton pads
• Wet wipes
• Paper towels
• Excessive amounts of toilet paper at once
• Hair trimmings or nail clippings

Plumbing Emergency

Finally, did you know that your good toilet etiquette can help avoid not only a plumbing emergency but also a personal injury emergency? It’s true!

Imagine walking into a public bathroom (maybe on St. Patrick’s Day) where someone who had one too many Guinnesses didn’t clean up after their poor aim. If you’re not careful, you, or someone who walks in after you, could slip and fall.

One last tip for plumbing etiquette that we can all benefit from, in both public and home bathrooms, is to #keepyouraim! And, as many a public bathroom signage has urged, “if you have a little leak, please be neat and wipe the seat!”

If you should find that your “luck of the Irish” has run out, and you find yourself facing a plumbing emergency, remember that you have a four leaf clover of your own- McLoughlin Plumbing Heating Air Conditioning! Give us a call at (610) 624-8037 for assistance in Upper Darby, PA!